Profiles in Cowardice; Profiles in Courage
The House of Representatives has started debating a non-binding resolution against President Bush’s troop surge.
Almost four years into the Iraq war, the House on Tuesday began a historic debate on whether President Bush’s decision to add more U.S. troops to the bloody conflict is a mistake that has to be reversed.
That’s how Democrats want to frame this but this ‘debate’ isn’t anything more than legislated cheapshotting the President. The simple truth is that Democrats don’t have the nerve of putting their money where their mouth is. They want to parade lots of people before the microphones lambasting President Bush’s decision while they avoid taking responsibility. If they really believe that this is the wrong decision, they should defund the war.
As Joe Lieberman said last week, this isn’t a sign of resolution; it’s a sign of irresolution:
The resolution before us, its sponsors concede, will not stop the new strategy from going forward. As we speak, thousands of troops are already in Baghdad, with thousands more moving into position to carry out their Commander’s orders. This resolution does nothing to alter these facts.
Instead, its sponsors say it will send a message of rebuke from the Senate to the president, from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other. But there is a world beyond Pennsylvania Avenue that is watching and listening.
What we say here is being heard in Baghdad by Iraqi moderates, trying to decide whether the Americans will stand with them. We are being heard by our men and women in uniform, who will be interested to know whether we support the plan they have begun to carry out. We are being heard by the leaders of the thuggish regimes in Iran and Syria, and by Al Qaeda terrorists, eager for evidence that America’s will is breaking. And we are being heard across America by our constituents, who are wondering if their Congress is capable of serious action, not just hollow posturing.
This resolution is not about Congress taking responsibility. It is the opposite. It is a resolution of irresolution.
Speaker Pelosi wants to pretend that they’re tackling the biggest issues of the day but they aren’t. They’re sidestepping the biggest issues of the day, especially Iraq policy. Shame on her gutless wonders for that profile in cowardice.
What’s happening here is that Democrats want to have it both ways. They want to say that they support the troops while undercutting the troops’ ability to gain the Iraqis trust. There are people that are sitting on the fence in Iraq who want a government that will give them a fair shake. Many of these fence-sitters aren’t committing to the new government because they’re worried that we’ll abandon them. The House resolution is giving these fence-sitters a legitimate reason to believe that America will abandon them.
Technorati Tags: Nonbinding Resolution, Nancy Pelosi, Cowardice, Joe Lieberman, Profile in Courage
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
February 13th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
[...] Original post by Gary Gross and software by Elliott Back [...]
February 13th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
House Democrats unveil anti-war bill
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House Democrats rolled out their resolution opposing President Bush’s troop increase in Iraq on Mond…
February 14th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Make no mistake about it, the Democrats have every intention of putting their money where their mouth is. However, in typical fashion, they have to construct the percieved “crisis” first. The enemy has to be personalized and made to look like just plain folks like us with i-pods and laptops. The guys in Iraq, have to bemade to appear demoralized, we need to see more gatherings of Jihad Jane and her silly sentimntalists.