Democrats are waging a very steady and exceptionally careful war against the President and Republicans. They are taking baby steps when most Americans expect them to break out into at least a sweaty jog if not a full on sprint to start fixing the situation in Iraq and curbing the excesses of Bush gone wild.
Their latest micro gambit is one that is forming on the heels of the Patraeus testimony. The Democrats hope to tie up the President and the Pentagon with the concept of limiting troop deployment in Iraq. Their method for doing this would require that troops would not be allowed to spend more time in Iraq than they spend at home.
Many troops have spent multiple tours of duty in Iraq and to say that some of them are war weary is just an understatement that fails to come to terms with the effort and heart that American troops have put into the War in Iraq. Bush has paid for the war with political capital and sacrificed Generals. The real troops have paid with their lives, their limbs, their families, their finances, their health and their future.
Democrats think they may have enough Republican support on this micro move to actually get some legislation passed. That could help some of the troops that have already been pushed to the limits, but at the end of the day it doesn’t solve the root cause problem and only insures that more if not all American troops will be pushed to maximum overdrive before the draft is launched again.
The draft is really what we are talking about here after all. The war in Iraq can not continue without a draft. Democrats are going to be the likely benefactors of the Bush doctrine as they will inherit a war that was lost after it was so decisively won.
The Democrats move to tie up the President now, will really only force them to offer up a slightly more fair approach when Americas sons and daughters are drafted into the military to fight in Iraq. There are just not enough troops to wage a war for a full decade and win or even keep those troops, let alone an entire country safe from an enemy that is inspired by the presence of the troops in the first place. Making sure that all existing troops get equal time in the bunk beds versus the cots and mats on the ground will not fix anything.
President Bush is abusing the military. This cannot be solved by providing the President with the requirement to abuse the military equally. Its like complaining to an abusive parent to beat both children equally. The parent needs to be stopped and in this case the President needs to be replaced. Impeach Bush now, there is still time.
Maybe you missed it, but former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore was running for President in the GOP primaries. He has dropped out of the race citing a lack of fund raising infrastructure.