Surrender Monkeys?

A brand-spanking new CBS/New York Times poll is reporting that 63% of Americans want a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq for 2008. An even greater of percentage of folks (76%) believe that the war is going badly.

But amidst this, the Democrats in Congress have decided to send President Bush a Fiscal Year 2007 military budget addendum that gives him the war money he wants without a timetable or benchmarks for American withdrawal in Iraq. This bill will fund Bush's war until September 2007. The FY 2008 budget, which must be approved by October 1 of this year is a battle yet to be fought.

I hope that when the time comes for that political showdown the Democrats are organized and ready to cut Bush off. I'm not convinced that a timetable is the way to go; I prefer benchmarks for withdrawal. At the same time, I fear that without a timetable this war will drag endlessly on and more lives --- American and Iraqi --- will be lost. There is no question in my mind that we created the nightmare that is present-day Iraq. And I am equally convinced that our continued presence only exacerbates the crisis. I understand that the Democrats cannot get a veto-proof vote right now and that a budget must be fixed so that the Congress can move on to other pressing business. I understand that the larger budget battle, the one for FY 08, is yet to come. I hope that when that battle arrives, veto-proof or not, the Democrats and their leadership hold their ground and force President Bush to accept a bill that demands a winding-down of the American presence in Iraq. Otherwise, the Democrats risk being yet another cog in Bush's war machine. We must do better than that.