Senate Republicans appear to be about ready to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq. Just as the nascent Iraqi government starts to get up a head of steam in anticipation of next month’s elections, some “nervous Nellies” who worry about what the New York Times says about them appear to be willing to play the surrender card:
In a sign of increasing unease among Congressional Republicans over the war in Iraq, the Senate is to consider on Tuesday a Republican proposal that calls for Iraqi forces to take the lead next year in securing the nation and for the Bush administration to lay out its strategy for ending the war.The proposal on the Iraq war, from Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, and Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, would require the administration to provide extensive new quarterly reports to Congress on subjects like progress in bringing in other countries to help stabilize Iraq. The other appeals related to Iraq are nonbinding and express the position of the Senate.
It isn’t just that this is the absolute worst time for Senate Republicans to turn into jellyfish on the war. It is their pathetic belief that this will somehow shield them from criticism or lessen their association with the War in Iraq in any way. Surely they don’t believe it will have any affect on the White House. In which case, they are directing their concerns toward the Iraqi people and government. In fact, this is the primary reason they are giving for this surrender:
Mr. Warner said the underlying message was, “we really mean business, Iraqis, get on with it.” The senator, an influential party voice on military issues, said he did not interpret the wording of his plan as critical of the administration, describing it as a “forward-looking” approach.“It is not a question of satisfaction or dissatisfaction,” he said. “This reflects what has to be done.”
Democrats said the plan represented a shift in Republican sentiment on Iraq and was an acknowledgment of growing public unrest with the course of the war and the administration’s frequent call for patience. “I think it signals the fact that the American people are demanding change, and the Republicans see that that’s something that they have to follow,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader.
Well, Frist and Co. walked into that one, didn’t they? When Harry Reid says your on the side of the angels and that “the American people are demanding change” it begs the question: why not just throw in the towel now instead of waiting until next November?
By realizing Democratic talking points on the war, the Republican majority may just have taken an irrevocable step toward becoming the Republican minority.
As for the Iraqi government, here’s my friend AJ at Strata-Sphere:
A democratic and free Iraq does not take orders from doddling old fools in the US Senate. Who is being imperialistic now? And how about playing the Vietnam card.
Only a nitwit believes that the Iraqi government isn’t desperate to get rid of US troops and have their own army take control in fighting the insurgency. I daresay that any Iraqi politician coming out and saying that he likes anything about American troops patrolling his country – not to mention having those troops under American command and living in places where there is no Iraqi sovereignty – will not receive many votes at the polls. The fact is that Iraqi politicians are smarter than most Senators. At least in Iraq, the politicians are bright enough not to hand their opponents an election winning issue. The major political parties are all in support of getting Americans out as fast as possible. Why the “doddering old fools” in the Senate believe otherwise is a mystery.
The Administration will shrug off this nonsense as well it should. But the damage done to Republican Senators will evidence itself next November as I suspect several of their number will not be joining them when the next Congress convenes in January, 2007.
UPDATE
Hugh Hewitt has a similar take:
The proposed Senate resolution is an unmistakable vot-of-no-confidence in the Adminsitration, and the best gift the United States Senate could give Zarqawi and his terrorist ranks. It is almost incomprehensible that Senate Republicans could see this in any other fashion.