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Thursday, March 15, 2007
“The language of war…”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the most interesting sideshows of the attempt by Democrats to force the administration to accept a withdrawal timetable for Iraq has been their effort to find precisely the right language or phrase that will give nobility to surrender. Usually it centers on some version of “we support the troops, so let’s scram.” Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass tested a version of it Wednesday as the Senate moved into full debate on a Democratic withdrawal resolution. “The American people are far ahead of the administration,” said Kennedy. “We have an obligation to stand up for our troops and stand up to our president when he stubbornly refuses to change course in Iraq.”
The sideshow had its performances in the House, too, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had a closed-door set-to with U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), one of the party’s cut-and-run liberals — as opposed to the safe-face-but-leave liberals, which is where Pelosi is. Waters, incidentally, is not modest about her limited importance. This is how she identifies herself on her website: “Congresswoman Maxine Waters is considered by many to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today. She has gained a reputation as a fearless and outspoken advocate for women, children, people of color and the poor.”
Waters is Pelosi’s Sister Souljah on Iraqi withdrawal. Liberals who represent completely safe Democratic districts risk nothing in demanding withdrawal, cutting off funds, or engaging in any other high-risk route to surrender. But some Democrats, like John Barrow of Savannah and Jim Marshall of Macon, would be toast if liberals actually succeeded in forcing a timetable.
It won’t happen, of course. President Bush has vowed to veto anything that hints of a deadline.
And if the world needed any reminder of the stakes here, the tribunal statement of 9-11 mastermind, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, should provide it. “I’m not happy that 3,000 been killed in America. I feel sorry, even. I don’t like to kill children and the kids.” But, he added, “The language of war is victims.”
