Between Iraq and a Hard-headed Place

Ignoring everyone on Iraq

By Kelvin Wade

Last week, 11 Republicans met privately with the president and tried to talk some sense into him about Iraq. They even went so far as to tell him that news about Iraq should come from Gen. Petraeus, the general in charge, because Bush no longer had credibility on the issue. Somehow, I don't think Republican words will have much effect on this president. It will take action.

The Republicans lost Congress last year over Iraq. The American public wanted to see a course correction. We're tired of seeing how many different ways our troops can be killed or maimed while babysitting a civil war. Bush's answer? Increase the number of targets . . .er . . . troops in Iraq, despite the fact that the majority of Americans opposed it.

On the anniversary of Bush's Mission Accomplished stunt on the USS Lincoln, the Congress sent him a military spending bill with a timetable to withdraw American troops. Bush vetoed it. Never mind that, according to a CNN poll, 54 percent of Americans opposed that veto. Fifty-seven percent of Americans want Congress to send up another bill with timetables.

Who else wants a timetable for withdrawal? The Iraqi Parliament. Last week, 144 lawmakers, a majority of that body, signed a petition calling on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal of troops.

But this Administration feels we should stay as long as necessary even though a March 2007 Iraq After-Action Report declared our force levels there are "unsustainable."

The president dispatched Dick Cheney to Baghdad last week to tell the parliament not to take a planned two-month vacation and to pass legislation designed for national reconciliation. But why should they? What's the rush? Our commitment is open-ended. I guess the carnage in the wake of our open-ended commitment doesn't much matter. In case anyone in the White House cares, 104 U.S. troops were killed last month. Forty-nine have been killed so far this month. We've lost 3,400 people so far. Untold thousands more have returned maimed to substandard treatment facilities. Over 100 of our boys have killed themselves while on duty in Iraq. A USA Today/Gallup poll last week found that three out of four voters want benchmarks tied to new Iraq war funding. Why not? Federal money often comes with strings when used in America. Why would Americans want to sign a blank check? And surprise, Bush says he will now accept benchmarks.

Of course, benchmarks are completely worthless if there are no consequences. But the thing we have to keep in mind is that it doesn't matter what the majority of the American and Iraqi people want. It doesn't matter what a majority of the U.S. Congress and Iraqi Parliament wants. It doesn't matter that Gen. Petraeus has said there's no military solution to Iraq's problem. It doesn't matter how many have died and have been injured. Nor does it matter how many more meet their end in the Iraqi meat grinder. And it doesn't seem to matter that we've spent $426 billion that we didn't have.

No. It only matters what Bush wants. He wants victory in Iraq. And he's willing to spend every last penny of your money and spill every last drop of your children's blood to get it.