Yesterday, in his State of the Union speech, US President George Bush begged Congress to "give him a chance" on Iraq. Unfortunately for him, it seems to have gone down like a lead balloon, with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee immediately declaring that the escalation of the Iraq war was "not in the national interest". The full Senate is likely to confirm the committee's judgement next week, and while it will have no legal effect, it will be a powerful slap in the face to the President, and a strong symbol of his new lame duck status.
The question is whether Congress will feel the need to take stronger action, such as refusing to fund additional troop deployments. At the moment the Democrats are still cautiously assessing the public mood - but I think they are likely if anything to get bolder in the coming months as the war continues to pointlessly drag on.
Correct me if I'm wrong ... but aren't these (mostly) the same Democrats who voted for the war in the first place?
ReplyDeleteYes, they are - but unlike the Republicans, they have at least acknowledged it was a mistake to do so.
ReplyDeleteI don't buy that at all ... I think they were pro-war when it suited them politically, and have become anti-war now that it suits them to be so.
ReplyDeleteAs Duncan points out, many of them were pro-war when it suited their own narrow political interests. The same opportunistic self-interest now encourages them to be anti-war.
ReplyDeleteThey are politicians, after all. Why should anyone be surprised?
However, shouldn't we applaud any progress towards ending the tragedy of Iraq even if it is driven by shameless hypocrisy?