Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> Nathan Newman wrote:
>
> >Do you want the headline this week to be-- Opposition Democrats still
> >Support Bush's War
> >
> >Or would you rather have the headline be--- Even 37-Year Veteran Marine
> >Thinks Bush's War a Piece of Crap.
>
> And the subhead would be, Dem leader Pelosi refuses to agree.
>
> Would you deny that the Dems, as a party, can't figure out their
> position on the war?
I would prefer that the headlines tell the truth, and the truth is that opposition Democrats still support Bush's war -- because it isn't bush's war, it's the U.S.'s war, and the real debate at the top seems to be how best to maintain minimal public support for it. And by minimal public support I mean continued belief that passive public opposition (as revealed in polls or elections) can be an effective force for withdrawal.
I prefer, first of all, to believe actions rather than words, and the actions of the DP and its leadership continue to be in support of the war. Secondly, the argument that the U.S. must repair the damage it has done is simply not a believable argument -- anyone who uses that argument is either a knave or a fool to use Swift's alternatives.
The argument that withdrawal would lead to civil war is either profoundly ignorant or profoundly knavish. There undoubtedly will be considerable internal disturbances whenever the u.s. leaves. But the longer that departure is postponed, the greater will be the difficulties of reconstruction, and the bloodier will be any civil war that follows. What this pseudo-debate in Congress does is (Congress and the Administration must hope) is increase delusory hopes that ordinary political practice will lead to u.s. withdrawal.
But this is ridiculous. The U.S. will withdraw from Iraq when, and only when, the dangers of domestic disturbances outweigh the geopolitical dangers of withdrawal. And whatever Nathan's intentions are, what he is doing is actively participating in the process of deluding the American people.
The war will drag on. We have the time to build an extra-parliamentary opposition that will bring real pressure on the government to end its involvement. Anyone who urges trust in the DP is (whether naively or deliberately) acting to prevent the growth of such an effective opposition to the war.
Carrol