[Dean's World] Dave Price: Iraq And The Limits of Partisan Folly

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
Iraq And The Limits of Partisan Folly
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1177042548.shtml


   There was an [1]odd and revealing little imbroglio the other day, when
   General David Petraeus, architect of the "surge" counterinsurgency
   strategy, came back from Iraq and asked to brief Congress. He was
   initially told they would not meet with him, but belatedly realizing
   how this might look to the public, who continue to hold the military
   sacrosanct, Democrats [2]hastily reversed their decision and invited
   him to speak.
   As Iâve said [3]before, Americaâs abiding faith in the military
   remains the trump card in Iraq policy. The public may [4]believe that
   Democrats in Congress would do a better job on the war than Bush, but
   if pollsters asked whether Dems, Repubs, or the military would do a
   better job with war strategy â well, I think we know how the polling
   on that question would come out. Iâm not sure either party would even
   break single digits when matched against our professional soldiers.
   The nightmare scenario for Dems, which must by now have occurred to
   some forward-thinking advisers around Pelosi and Reid (not to mention
   Obama and Clinton), is not victory in Iraq, as some partisans on the
   right will claim (Dems can, and will if circumstances warrant, take
   credit by claiming they forced Bush to change a failed course). The
   real political danger for Dems is an abrupt Democrat-led departure,
   opposed by the military, leading to massive bloodshed and the
   establishment of a Qaedist mini-state in the Sunni Arab part of the
   country, followed by a parade of retiring generals blasting Democrat
   policymaking for undoing all our soldiersâ dearly-bought work and
   turning a bad situation into a true strategic disaster. Thatâs an
   outcome that they could live with when Communist threats were distant
   and returning soldiers were routinely spat on, but itâs politically
   deadly in a time when the New York skyline has been irrevocably
   altered by Al Qaeda atrocities (with promises of worse to come) and
   the troops are revered as heroes.
   So while in the throes of a tight primary campaign we may hear the
   leading Dem Presidential candidates pandering to the activist antiwar
   left with promises they will âend the warâ if elected, it seems
   unlikely a total withdrawal from Iraq is going to happen any time in
   the next administration, even if the situation continues to get worse.
   All but the farthest left concede that we need to fight Al Qaeda and
   prevent Qaedist states from re-emerging; there is little debate about
   leaving Afghanistan, despite the similar challenges and problems. At
   worst, I think we will see sufficient air support remain in Iraq to
   prevent militias of any sect from carrying out the kind of open
   military campaign that would be necessary to overthrow Iraqâs elected
   government, and continuing American operations against Al Qaeda there,
   even if much of the rest of the fighting is turned over to Iraqi
   forces, which may by then be capable enough to shoulder that load.

References

   1. http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2007/04/18/congressional-democrats-no-time-for-petraeus/print/
   2. http://www.upi.com/Security_Terrorism/Briefing/2007/04/18/petraeus_going_to_capitol_hill/
   3. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1163620010.shtml
   4. http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=11376