Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have sent George W. Bush a letter in which they urge him to “reject his reported plan to escalate the war in Iraq by increasing troop levels and delaying the ability of the Iraqi government take control of their own future.”
From the letter:
“We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success. They, like us, believe there is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution.”
“Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain.”
“Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror.”
The entire letter can be read here (scroll down).
The XSociate at State of the Day doesn’t think that the letter will make the slightest difference:
The main topic of conversation all yesterday was of course the letter sent by the Democratic leadership to President Bush opposing any troop increases in Iraq. My initial thoughts? Big friggin’ whoop. I’m trying to feel optimistic about it, trust me, I really am. Nor do I wish to decry the Dems for making their stance on the issue known, but does anyone really think the Decider gives a damn what the Democrats think? He was contemptuous of Congress even when his own party held the reins. One need only look to his prodigious use of signing statements to get an idea of how much he values the will of Congress. You think he’ll be anymore amenable now that the Dems are in charge?
All Bush cares about is salvaging his legacy. And if that means sending more of our troops off to fight and die for what many see as a lost cause at this point, so be it.
While the polls do seem to show that, it’s hardly the case that the elections “demonstrated� this. Indeed, it’s generally hard to say that midterm elections demonstrate much of anything in the aggregate, since they’re a series of one-on-one match-ups. While there was a general “we need change� motif to the campaign, there was hardly a coherent platform. For that matter, not every Democrat who won the election supports the Pelosi-Reid position on the war.
[…]
That our “troops have been pushed to the breaking point� is hardly an established “fact.� As to many of them having served multiple tours, it is, after all, their job to fight their country’s wars.
[…]
Although I’m willing to be sold, I think a surge at this point is a bad idea. Still, it’s silly to argue that it has
“already [been] tried and that has already failed.� In the early days of the war, critics were complaining that that Bush and company had sent too few troops. When, exactly, did we try a surge?
Grandma needs to go back to baking cookies and stay out of military decisions.
Grandma Nancy and Harry Reid have a letter to the president which I sincerely hope the president gives it the consideration it deserves……. by throwing it into the nearest trashcan where it belongs.
Fact is that the President IS going to get his troop increase through. Lieberman is for it, along with a lot of the Blue Dog Democrats – so you can forget it – you don’t have the votes or the “mandateâ€? to bully the President around.
Combine with this media darling John McCain standing with the President and Lieberman, and well, Pelosi might be left standing like the little grey haired step child in the end. Again, Bush will get the troop increase through.
I don’t really have anything to add to this, other than to note what a good letter it is. The Reid/Pelosi correspondence will no doubt be ignored, but it’s encouraging nevertheless to see Dem leaders from both chambers let the president know, in no uncertain terms, that they’re going to resist his Iraq policy every step of the way.
One of my favorite ‘liberal’ bloggers: Bob Geiger
the era of the do-nothing GOP House and Senate have clearly come to an end.
And lastly AmericaBlog:
The American people would appreciate it if Bush would take these views into consideration, too. But what are the chances?
Close to zero, nothing, nada I would say.
This entire ‘surge’ is based on wishful thinking. If Bush would – together with the military – come up with a clear plan, calculate the results of a surge etc. it would be a different matter altogether, but this is merely wishful thinking.
A compromise is not possible regarding Iraq. Should the Democrats try to work in a bipartisan manner? Sure, but how can they be bipartisan regarding Iraq, if the U.S. President simply refuses to listen to opposition, refuses to face reality and is dedicated to raising the troop levels in Iraq although doing so is completely and utterly useless?
Bush will – undoubtedly – send more troops.
And the result will be…
more deaths.
more destruction.
more time wasted.
for absolutely nothing.
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.