It now seems evident that, tough-sounding rhetoric aside, the Democrats in Congress will do nothing to block Bush's request for a troop surge. For proof, we need look no further than Speaker Pelosi's recent interview on CBS' "Face The Nation" in which she stated, when asked if Congress would cut funding for the war: "we won't do that." She added that her party favors increasing the military by 50,000 troops to "protect Americans."
Joe Biden, who just threw his hat in the ring, concurred, insisting that it would be a "tragic mistake" for Bush to widen the war while dismissing the notion of funding reductions, saying that wasn't an option.
We at the Populist Review must disagree. We believe cutting off funds for this unjustified occupation is precisely the option. And we would hope, though we don't expect, that Congress would do just that, especially in the wake of November's mandate.
But, alas, events are not shaping up that way. It now seems clear that Bush's "new strategy" will include a "temporary" troop increase (like the temporary suspension of rights in the Patriot Act) and a few token gestures to make the move more palatable to Democrats--like the "jobs program" being suggested which would provide micro loans to (complicit?) Iraqis through U.S. commanders, or a similar "education" program now under consideration--minuscule gestures designed to ameliorate opposition. And unless we miss our guess, the Democrats will seize on the opportunity to avoid a showdown with the WH while clamoring for "better accountability" and a "verifiable mission"--goals that deviate markedly from their original mandate.
Of course, they're fools if they get sucked into this. Up to this point, the war in Iraq has been solely a Republican burden. To acquiesce now puts the Dems right there with them. Their only course in dealing with this quagmire---and I'll say that again---their only course is to cut funding for the war. If Bush and his neocon buds want to continue their jihad, they can damn well do it by running drugs and arms like they did in Nicaragua when his dad was in office. This nightmare has already cost an incredible $500 billion--not to mention the dead and our devastated image abroad--and Bush plans to call for another $100 billion in his budget on Feb 5! If the Democrats go along with this scheme--and make no mistake, it's a scheme to add troops for an eventual showdown with Iran--they can forget their dreams of ever balancing the budget, driving down the deficit, or funding any social programs. Their only choice will be to rally around their decision and play to the nationalistic fervor that comes from our descent into a global conflagration.
Andrea Hackett is an freelance journalist, founder of the Las Vegas Dancers Alliance in Nevada, and editor of the Populist Review. She may be contacted at andreahackett@cox.net
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