One Utah

Here’s the Bush administration’s political strategy, with acknowledgement to Talking Points Memo, where they have been saying this for months now:

The Bushies need the Iraq escalation to take them through their last two years without having to admit failure. It will be June by the time we finish deployment of the additonal 50,000 soldiers. It will take another few months before everyone has to admit that it isn’t working. Then it will be the end of 2007 and the new argument will be about whether we ought to withdraw some troops, who are now in effect hostages for Bush to use as bargaining chips. That will take a few months, at least, and we’ll be into the presidential primaries. Bush won’t want to do anything too “political” at that point, of course, so he’ll happily leave his Iraq fiasco to the next presidential administration. And Bush and Cheney will spin it for all it’s worth for the rest of their lives.

This is why yesterday Bush threatened to veto not only the Iraq Accountability Act that Congress has already passed, but any and all future bills that contain a timetable for withdrawal. Bush probably thinks he can avoid being held accountable if the Dems also support the occupation by funding it with no strings attached.

It’s up to the Democrats to keep Bush from running out the clock, wasting thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of our tax dollars. Here are some options being talked about in Washington:

• House Defense Appropriations Chairman John Murtha (D-PA) plans to offer the Bush administration an emergency supplemental appropriation with no withdrawal timetable, but with only enough money to fund the Iraq occupation for two months. This sets up a cycle that will force Republican members of Congress to vote on Iraq again and again. Unlike Bush, most GOP congressmen are running for re-election. Some are already getting ready to break ranks.
• Senator Russ Feingold’s Iraq Redeployment Act, commonly referred to as “Reid-Feingold” since it was endorsed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, would prohibit the use of funds for continued combat operations six months after enactment. Reid-Feingold allows for specific operations to continue in Iraq beyond six months, including counter-terrorism efforts, protection of U.S. personnel and infrastructure, and training of Iraqi security forces.
• Senator Barack Obama’s Iraq War De-escalation Act would require redeployment of U.S. forces no later than May 1, 2007, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. The Obama plan allows for a limited number of U.S. troops to remain as basic force protection, to engage in counter-terrorism, and to continue the training of Iraqi security forces. Permanent bases would be prohibited.
• New Mexico Governor and presidential candidate Bill Richardson has advocated a new congressional resolution (which Bush cannot veto) that would repeal the October 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Although the AUMF was not a declaration of war, and it was directed against an Iraqi government that no longer exists, Bush continues to use it as authorization for the Iraq occupation.
• ALL OF THE ABOVE - why not?

The latest CBS News/New York Times poll (PDF) indicates the public may be on board with “all of the above.”

IF BUSH VETOES FUNDING-TIMETABLE BILL, DEMS SHOULD…
Fund war anyway 56%
Withhold funding until Bush sets timetable 36%

SHOULD U.S. SET TIMETABLE FOR IRAQ WITHDRAWAL IN 2008?
Yes 64%
No 32%

UPDATE: Here’s something our congressional representatives ought to consider. There are 630 days left in the Bush presidency. At the current casualty rate, that translates into 2,520 more dead American soldiers and marines. That’s probably an optimistic prediction: General Petraeus has warned us to expect an increase in casualties because of the escalation.

“American troops are dying for no good reason at this point,” says Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). “They are in a situation where they are being sacrificed because people want political comfort in Washington. The surge isn’t working. The situation in Iraq isn’t working.”

This entry was posted Saturday, April 28th, 2007 at 9:38 am and is filed under Dick Cheney, Disaster, George W. Bush, Iraq, National Politics, War. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.