Election Strategy: Blame the Liberals, Then Blame the Iraqis Posted by Lorelei Kelly

Ah, our limping democracy. Despite the plaudits that House leadership  is getting for just doing its job, a truly awful Iraq war resolution will be "debated" in Congress on Thursday (in quotes because, as usual, the rule for debate is so restrictive that someone should roll a laugh track over the PA system throughout).  If only every Member of Congress had to watch the film "The War Tapes" before heading to the House floor.  This movie was filmed by a dozen National Guard soldiers in spring, 2004, just as the insurgency roiled. They carried digital video cameras. What they captured, coupled with their own interview-style narrative, left a searing impression of our soldiers' courage versus our civilian leadership's photo-op blabber. For more info on Iraq films see Show Us the War.

I saw this film it at the progressive-mecca Take Back America conference here in DC this week. I also met some very cool women national security bloggers: Fire Dog Lake and Taylor Marsh to name two.

The House Resolution (posted in full at the end) is a chest-thumpy piece of work, with no discernable problem solving recommendations, but lots of opportunities to slam critics. Its language equates the war in Iraq with operations in Afghanistan, and by labeling Saddam Hussein as a threat against global peace and security, the resolution seeks to retroactively justify the war.  In fact, Majority Leader Boehner wrote a memo (leaked) detailing the political usefulness of returning to that tried and true old trope "kill them over there so they don't get us over here". Despite the manacles on participation,

there should be a quality rumpus on the floor (led by a sizeable faction of House Democrats who are tired of being sworn to talking point gimmees like Health, Education and 90K stuffed in the freezer...oops, I mean "culture of corruption").

Why is Congress engaging in this oh so 2003 posturing?Even the president is acknowledging the need for new, more humble directions in US foreign policy. But the lure of politics over policy is proves too strong.  His henchman Rove still scorches the Earth with hateful rhetorical firecrackers: He said of Democrats “They may be with you for the first shots. But they’re not going to be with you for the tough battles......When it gets tough, and when it gets difficult, they fall back on that party’s old pattern of cutting and running. …" This nonsense from a man who has made quitting a standard operating procedure: He has given up on our best preventive defense strategies, quit on cooperation, cut and run on our allies, our intelligence community. Why, from the looks of this House resolution, the Republicans have even quit listening to the military....

A political-junkie military friend back from Iraq writes to me:

Tompaine's Dreyfuss has got it close to right. What the administration is doing, on the one hand, is acting tough, calling out to "stay the course" and beating up all Democrats based on the words of the "out now" crowd...  on the other hand, while everyone is distracted, they are, as they have been for two years, fighting a decent interval strategy. Their only focus is to shift the problem to the Iraqis as soon as possible, get on the airplane,and say "it looked good when I left".... The administration has been spinning the situation, setting up the Iraqis for the blame (in 2008) and setting the tone of the discussion... Instead of talking about Administration incompetence we're defending those people, who out of frustration and despair are advocating an understandable but unfortunately wrong solution, and handing the Republicans victory in 2006 and 2008.

A friend steeped in Afghanistan for years recently recalled to me how regional intelligence operatives-in dismay--have been getting pulled off long-term human intelligence building assignments to find bin Laden before November.

Our limping democracy, indeed.

Here's the resolution:

H. RES. 861

Declaring that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 12, 2006

Mr. HYDE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

RESOLUTION

Declaring that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

Whereas the United States and its allies are engaged in a Global War on Terror, a long and demanding struggle against an adversary that is driven by hatred of American values and that is committed to imposing, by the use of terror, its repressive ideology throughout the world;

Whereas for the past two decades, terrorists have used violence in a futile attempt to intimidate the United States;

Whereas it is essential to the security of the American people and to world security that the United States, together with its allies, take the battle to the terrorists and to those who provide them assistance;

Whereas the Taliban, Al Qaed