October 1st is a “date certain for surrender” argues Senator John McCain in reference to the Congressionally-passed $124 billion funding bill which contains a provision requiring the withdrawal of U.S. troops deployed in Iraq by that date.
It strikes me as terribly ironic that Senator McCain would say this since he has long criticized the Administration for providing inadequate resources to the war–including troops. With the Republican Presidential primaries looming in the far, far distance, President “W” has twisted Senator McCain like a corpse hung by a noose with the simple expedient of the so-called “surge.” Never mind that even at the height of the surge (the bulk of the deployments haven’t even happened yet), about the best our very limited forces on the ground will be able to do is provide a few days of safer shopping in Baghdad. Minor problem–Iraq is a nation–not a synonym for Baghdad. The rest of Iraq gets very short shrift.
So, Senator McCain has been silenced as a critic–too bad for us. The President gets his way and polarizes the debate along party lines. He’s betting he can paint the Democrats as desiring “peace-at-any-price.” That would be fine if the Administration had ever engaged in a meaningful debate with the Democrats (who are not all of one voice as demonstrated by the debate at South Carolina State). However, the “W” and Cheney have always firmly denied the Nation a debate over the course of the war. As a side effect he is now only beginning to realize, he and his Administration will take the full weight of the calamity that will inevitably occur in Iraq.
President “W” gets closer and closer in his pronouncements to using the dreaded Vietnam-Era cliche “light at the end of the tunnel.” Even if he avoids using the words, he’s already referenced Vietnam and his “we need more time” has effectively the same meaning anyway. By chaining himself to this Administration in an effort to curry Republican Primary voters, Senator McCain is once again a prisoner–and this time he may not be released.
