Dems to introduce Iraq withdrawal...

After testing the waters with their anti-surge resolution, the Dems are taking the next step in calling for a full withdrawal of US troops by 2008 should the Iraqi government not meet certain benchmarks:

"The conditions, described as tentative until presented to the Democratic rank and file, would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and AfgSpeaker Nancy Pelosi’s office announced plans for a Thursday morning news conference to unveil the measure, without providing any of the details. It said she would be joined by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., and other key lawmakers. Murtha is chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Pentagon’s budget and is among the House’s most outspoken opponents of the war.


"But Democrats familiar with the emerging legislation said the bill would require President Bush to certify that the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was making progress toward providing for his country’s security, allocating its oil revenues and creating a fair system for amending its constitution.

"They said if Bush certified the Iraqis were meeting these so-called benchmarks, U.S. combat troops could remain until September of next year. Otherwise, the deadline would move up to the end of 2007."

Sounds pretty decisive yes? Then comes the politics:

"At the same time, it permits Bush to issue waivers of these standards. Democrats described the waiver provision as an attempt to embarrass the president, but their effect would be to permit the administration to proceed with plans to deploy five additional combat brigades to the Baghdad area over the next few months."

Let me check to see if I have this right--you have a troop withdrawal bill that allows a President, who may or surely lied to take us into this war of convenience, to add more troops and 'waive' the established benchmarks to keep them there because, when it blows up in his face he'll be 'embarrassed.' Who the hell thinks of this stuff? And then the Democrats wonder why the public thinks that they flip-flop. This President is beyond embarrassment. You have enough embarrassing material on Bush to make a series of DVDs hosted by Bob Saget, but at the end of the day he's programmed to 'stay the course,' even when his notes tell him that he never said 'stay the course.' I will say one thing about the Prez--he's never wavered from his position no matter how the polls have swayed or what his daddy or the rest of the world has said. He has a pathological inertia that keeps his internal compass aimed downward. If you give him the ability to keep troops in Iraq how can you not believe he won't keep them there? That's like telling a crackhead, "Look we're hiding your crack, but if you really want it we put it in that bag labeled 'Crack'."

Jokes aside, this game is being played with human lives. Either you want the troops out or you don't, but you can't have it both ways. As the opposition party the Democrats are not supposed to want it both ways. While this is a nice metaphorical step, its vague language will only insure more deaths in a situation whose outcome is determined. We've already lost our military struggle, now you're just drawing straws to see which one of our GIs will be the last to die.