Senate begins Iraq war debate

From left, Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr., Harry Reid, John Kerry, Carl Levin and Jack Reed after the procedural vote on the Iraq resolution today. Doug Mills/The New York Times.

This is off The New York Times:

WASHINGTON, March 14 — The Senate began an all-out debate today on a Democratic resolution calling for the withdrawal of most American troops from Iraq in 2008, with both Democrats and Republicans invoking the Constitution and America’s place in history.

“The way to succeed in Iraq is not to do more of the same,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader. “It is to change the mission and change the course.”

But Senator John McCain, a Republican of Arizona who backs an increase in troop strength in Iraq, said sponsors of the resolution “would not declare war, nor end it, as the Constitution provides, but micromanage it.”

“I ask my colleagues: is such micromanagement of warfare the responsibility of this body?”

The path to a full debate was cleared this morning, when the Senate voted, 89 to 9, not to block it. But the vote, set up on Tuesday when Republicans announced that they would not exercise their rights to stall consideration of the measure, is by no means indicative of support for the actual resolution.

Several Republican leaders said, in fact, that they would relish the debate, which they said would highlight the flaws and dangers of what they asserted was Democratic “micromanagement” of the war. Mr. McCain reiterated that theme today as he complained that the Democrats would “legislate our troops’ mission in midstream.”

But Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said a momentous choice was at hand. “History will judge us,” he said. “We can either continue down the president’s perilous path, or embrace a new direction.” To continue on the same road, he said, means “more American casualties, more death, and more destruction.”

What has happened here is that both political parties have decided that a debate on the Iraq war would be beneficial to both sides. The Democrats want to get the U.S. out of the war in Iraq. That is pretty straight forward. The Republicans, on the other hand, are hoping to use this debate to paint the congressional Democrats as micromanaging the Iraq war. Senator John McCain outlined the Republican position perfectly, claiming that the Democratic sponsors of these resolutions "would not declare war, nor end it, as the Constitution provides, but micromanage it. I ask my colleagues: is such micromanagement of warfare the responsibility of this body?" Excuse me Senator, but the Democrats are not "micromanaging" this Iraq war by introducing these resolutions. What the Democrats are doing with these resolutions is expressing the will of the American people. Just look at this latest CNN poll:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly six in ten Americans want to see U.S. troops leave Iraq either immediately or within a year, and more would rather have Congress running U.S. policy in the conflict than President Bush, according to a CNN poll out Tuesday.

Though support for Bush's decision to dispatch additional troops to Iraq grew to 37 percent -- up from 32 percent in a mid-January poll -- a slim majority of 52 percent say Congress should block funding for the new deployment.

The CNN poll was conducted Friday through Sunday by Opinion Research Corp. Pollsters interviewed 1,027 adults for the survey, which had a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

And I've got more polls showing a majority of Americans wanting to get out of Iraq here, here, and here. If anything, Senator, you and the Republicans are now in the minority regarding your unwavering support for the Bush war in Iraq. The Democrats are simply trying to enforce the will of the American people here. And so, Senator, it will certainly be interesting to see just how badly the Senate Republicans are going to spin their own destructive political position on this issue.

And as I've said before, this debate is all about the 2008 elections. The Republicans really don't have any viable, political position to run on--especially after the six years of Bush administration's scandals, corruption, and the Iraq war disaster. And with the Bush administration demanding that the Republican Party marches in line with the administration's pro-war policy, as a means to salvage Bush's legacy, the Republicans are forced into this no-win situation. Hence, the Republicans are trying to paint the Democrats as wanting to lose the war in Iraq, as wanting to support the terrorists, and this latest micromanaging the war. It is all lies. But then again, there is nothing left of this Bush-controlled Republican Party but lies.