View From The Middle
Congress Is Already Back On The Cut & Run Path
By Charles Rogers

I'm getting kind of sick of this whole thing about withdrawing the troops now. There! I said it! And I'm glad!

They - meaning the liberal, LIBERAL, LIBERAL Democrats have been crying in their beer for years now, with the new Speaker of the House Nancy ("I was the first one!") Pelosi and Senator John ("Oh, yeah! I was a hero in the military!") Murtha and the rest of 'em - before last November - bellowing like mad that they'd take care of things if they got control of Congress. Now that they've got control, it's obvious that they don't know what the hell to do!

Now, don't tell me about how wrong the war is or how we got in this conundrum or how much we ALL hate it. I happen to agree with you left-wingers almost all the way. We shouldn't be there and the mistakes that were made in the beginning sound like they're from a movie written and produced by "Borat" Sasha Barry Cohen. And that includes the leadership of President Bush, Vice-president Cheney, then-Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, etc., etc. right from the start. It is sad that more than 3,100 troops have been killed and thousands and thousands have been wounded, only to come home to another symbol of inefficiency and incompetence in our military and post-military hospitals. For us to be ashamed would be understating our emotions. But the point is that we're in Iraq now. We can't leave, not the way this Congress is trying to work it.

Call it what you may, but the Congress of the United States, especially Military Mogul Murtha & Co. are, in essence, telling us to "cut & run." Yes, I know. It's that tired old phrase again, isn't it? But look within that august cathedral of lawmakers. They tried the "non-binding" resolution already, and boy, that really worked, didn't it? It was another example of them not knowing what to do with the power once they got it. I mean, you've got to picture it: "Hey, I have it! Now that we've wrestled the House from their claws, we'll, uh, we'll... well...we'll...uh.....We'll...make a resolution! That's it! That'll turn things around! Boy, are we proud of ourselves!"

When that absolutely ridiculous time-waster didn't work, they began trying other tactics, such as the current proposal, which will have us withdrawing troops by the end of the year unless Bush - by July 1, 2007 - tells us things are going well, in which case they'd extend the time period to October 1. In the long run, the final time for us to get out, according to the 110th Congress, would be August of 2008. Hey! Is that neat, or what? Why, that's only two months before election time! How novel!...How cute! Of course, every individual Congress person will take some kind of credit for it. Hey, you wives and daughters and brothers and family members who have been waiting at home for your warriors to return, we are sending the troops home! Now, vote for us in November (please??).

Another point is that our over-intelligent representatives have given lip service to our military commanders, patted them on the back, and said. "Go. Do your thing. We're right behind you." Then they DARE to talk about holding back further funding unless the military cuts and runs.

And did you know how they're trying to get the president to pass the final draft on funding the troops? They're padding it with pork barrel items they've tacked onto the bill. For instance, Con-gressman Jones wants his constituents to have a new roadway built in the middle of town - Okay, we'll tack the money for that baby right on the back of the military spending bill. That'll make Con-gressman Jones toe the mark and put his name on the measure. There will be so much pork, and so many billions of dollars on top of the original bill there will be Senators and Congressmen (GOP too!) standing in line just to drool over it.

Finally, instead of bending to either house of Congress, Mr. President will take the advice of the people who are literally leading the fight over there and pass his bill; and let them decide how the military will handle the military. The new tactics are almost in place. Yes, it's touchy, but dammit, it's better than cutting and running!

Reader Comments

No comments have been posted. Be the first!

Other Stories With Comments:
Article	Comments
Golden City: Bought, Burned, Bought Again	1