That Didn’t Quite Work Out
Although the Democrats that held their "hearing" yesterday are spinning mightily, the retired generals they got to speak did not exactly perform as they wished. The Dems got their denunciations of Rumsfeld, but they also got told that pulling out of Iraq was not the answer. In fact, they got told that more troops is the right one.
Batiste, who retired in protest rather than accept a three-star promotion, was a persuasive witness — and Democrats were joyous. "Your statement, I believe, defines the word 'courage,' " Sen. Byron Dorgan (N.D.) gushed. Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) pumped his fist and gave Batiste and his colleagues pats on the biceps. And Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) proclaimed, giddily: "This hearing today could change our country."
Perhaps. But Democrats, while celebrating Batiste's criticism of the administration, exercised some selective listening at the hearing when Batiste and his colleagues offered their solution: more troops, more money and more time in Iraq.
"We must mobilize our country for a protracted challenge," Batiste warned.
"We better be planning for at least a minimum of a decade or longer," contributed retired Marine Col. Thomas Hammes.
"We are, conservatively, 60,000 soldiers short," added retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who was in charge of building the Iraqi Security Forces.
….
The questioners skillfully directed the witnesses toward past failures rather than their expansive prescriptions for the future. A notable exception was the relatively hawkish Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), who, as the last questioner, invited the officers to comment on the effect of a specific withdrawal date.
"The result will be a civil war of some magnitude that will turn into a regional mess," Batiste said without hesitation.
As he stood to leave, Batiste worried that this last point — the need to stay in Iraq — might be overlooked. "The hard part," he told reporters, "is moving forward."
Did he detect any enthusiasm for making a bigger effort in Iraq?
"God help us if there's not," the general said.
(I am firmly on record as believing that retired general officers have no business meddling in civilian politics. I still believe that. I post this only to show that political theater doesn't always work out the way people plan.) The left will only publicize the criticism of Rumsfeld, and by extension, Bush. They will ignore the fact that these people also vigorously called for the exact opposite of the precipitous withdrawal that the left wants.
By Dan, Tuesday, 26 September , 2006 @ 8:11 am
Stupid Democrats. Why aren’t they using their monopoly on the federal government to send more troops over to Iraq and get the job done?
Gaius, while many Democrats (the Lamonts of the party) are all about “bring the troops home”, there are many who believe that although the reasoning for the war is so obfuscated, it is necessary to finish the job properly.
By Gaius, Tuesday, 26 September , 2006 @ 8:30 am
Note that I said “the left”. The reference to Democrats was kind of necessary given the context of the “hearing”.
I know not all Dems want to cut and run, Dan. I know they are being drowned out at the moment, too.
By Dan, Tuesday, 26 September , 2006 @ 8:47 am
I wouldn’t say drowned out. At point the deaniacs were running the asylum. Making Howard Dean the head of the DNC didn’t help. But I think that Lieberman will win the General Election as an independent, and once that happens, actual Dems will wake up to the fact that the Kos kids are ruining the Democratic party as much as the Religious Right is ruining the GOP.
By Gaius, Tuesday, 26 September , 2006 @ 8:52 am
In case you hadn’t noticed, Dan, I’m actually in favor of a healthy Democratic party. The Koz Kidz ain’t healthy for them.
By Dan, Tuesday, 26 September , 2006 @ 9:26 am
I hadn’t noticed actually, but thanks for clearing it up.