I wish Democrats would have the courage to stand up, unanimously, and call attention to conservative illogic.
Bush decided on a policy to invade Iraq and, so, troops became present in Iraq because of the policy, following the policy. Bush decided on a policy of "staying the course" and, so, the presence of troops in Iraq was a consequence of that policy decision. Their continued presence came after the policy decision. Bush decided on a "surge" policy and sent more troops to Iraq. The presence of troops in Iraq now follows after the policy decision.
Policy decisions were the justification for putting troops in Iraq. Today, conservatives are reversing this timing sequence and claiming that the presence of the troops are the justification for the presence of the troops. This is like saying that your justification for commiting incest again is that you've already commited incest.
The statement that we must support our troops because they are there ignores the fact that someone (Bush) put them there. This is simply illogical and I do wish the Democrats would point this out instead of being so cowardly that they have to accept the conservatives' illogical construction and loudly proclaim their own support of the troops.
This construction is a ruse. The American people deserve better than to have this ruse foisted on us. We certainly deserve better from the Democrats.