As I wrote last November, the expectation in Iraq was that the new Democratic majorities in Congress would end the war, one way or the other. At the time, I expressed great concern for the quisling attitude toward war funding coming from the mouths of the new leadership. Seven months later, my worst fears have been realized with word of the Great Compromise.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, there have been many would be saviors and saving graces sent over here. Abizaid begot Casey, Casey begot Petreus, and he himself begot "The Surge." Different men, different plans, yet none leading to victory. Why has victory proven so elusive? The simple answer is that there is nothing and no one to be victorious over.
Iraq is not a country in any sense acceptable to the Western mind and model. The geographic region consists of a myriad of ethinic, religious, and tribal groups lacking a coherent, united identity. They exist as a nation only in the manner in which the British Empire so selfishly and shamefully decreed it. The idea of Iraq existed to the extent a brutal dictator like Saddam Hussein could will it. Once the iron will fell, the term "Iraqi" had no real meaning.
Essentially, the United States finds itself bogged down in a civil war over control of a nation that exists on maps, but not in the hearts and minds of it purported citizens. Hence, you can not "win back" Iraq, it does not exist. You can not fight on the side of the "Iraqis", they do not exist. Any idea of victory predicated on the perpetuation of the nationhood of Iraq is not merely elusive, but altogether non-existent.
For the good of OUR nation, the United States military must redeploy as quickly and safely as possible. Over 3,400 of my brothers and sisters have died and tens of thousands more have been injured, battered, and maimed, both physically and mentally. They and all the rest of us have done our jobs to the best of our abilities. The shame of this war lies with the policymakers, not with those used and abused in the conduct of their ill-conceived, ill-advised, and illicit misadventure.
In the course of our nation's history, we have come to expect callousness and self-centeredness from the Republican Party. Make no mistake, they work for the vested interests, economic, religious, and social, that seek to maintain the status quo visa vis the haves and have nots. When they enact policies that overwhelmingly favor the powerful over the powerless, they are not disasterous decisions as seen by most mainstream observers, but rather exactly what they intended. The Democratic Party, for all of its warts, developed to give some semblence of balance between the power majority and the alienated numerical majority. However, when this new breed, the Clintons, the Emmanuels, the Hoyers, and the Blue Dogs seek conciliation with the very people the party exists to check, one must question why this once glorious party remains.
The only way to restore the soul of the Democratic Party, and, in effect, the soul of the entire body politic, is to immediately end all votes on this cowardly compromise. Even if it costs the Democrats the majority in both Houses and the Presidency in '08, it would be worth it to save all the lives that would be lost or decimated from this moment to whenever the Republican extremists eventually decide to end this raid by Halliburton on the Treasury.
As is the fashion in American politics, everyone wants to claim a heartfelt and deep-seated religious foundation. Well, here's mine: Jesus said that which you do unto the least of my brothers is that which you do unto me. As we head into Memorial Day weekend, all lawmakers should know that there is no more "least" than the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines being used as pawns in this sick political game.