> (2) The missing WMDs issue, as well as Bush's lies about them and
> incompetent occupation, is a _perfect_ weapon for Democrats:
>
> They can attack Bush and try to have as many anti-war voters as
> possible remain corralled in the Democratic Party pen:
> (2a) without looking dumb or devious about having supported the war on
> Iraq or not having resisted it aggressively -- "You misled us about the
> WMDs!";
> (2b) without having to commit themselves to ending the US occupation of
> Iraq and yet looking as if they were doing "something" about the
> occupation when they are doing nothing of the sort;
> &
> (2c) thereby exercising Democratic-Party-loving peace & justice
> bureaucrats to waste time & money (and asking us to waste time &
> energy) lobbying Democratic (and moderate Republican) Representatives
> and Senators -- e.g., <http://www.moveon.org/wmdpledge/nozip.html?id=>,
> <http://www.moveon.org/news/1508.html>,
> <http://www.moveon.org/misleaderdrive/>, <http://epic-
> usa.org/action/alert.php?n=63>, <http://www.endthewar.org/big-
> lie.htm> -- and allowing them to (2c') avoid campaigning really
> aggressively to Bring the Troops Home Now and End the Occupation and
> thus also (2c'') avoid having to blow the cover of Democrats, none of
> whom would call for immediate US troop withdrawal and all of whom are
> for a "kinder, gentler" occupation, in full view of their
> constituencies.
All very astutely put. But that's often the way peace/war politics works in this crazy country. The rules don't allow you (if you feel constrained to obey the rules) to forthrightly say, "this war is (or all wars are) bad and shouldn't be fought." That would be unpatriotic and cause you to be cast out into the wilderness of the "lily-livered radicals with yellow stripes up their backs." You have to say, "I supported the President and the fighting men and women, like any good patriotic American, but (sob, sob) the President deceived us patriotic citizens like me. Don't get me wrong -- I stand by my earlier support of the war; I'm still as patriotic as ever. I just feel somewhat sad about being deceived."
This is a code expression, which is supposed to be decoded as: "I went along with the push toward war last spring, but I've changed my mind and now wish I hadn't."
The same thing, more or less, happened in the case of the Vietnam War, with the "Gulf of Tonkin" Resolution.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org _____________________________________________ The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt - Bertrand Russell