As a nation we have many things for which to be grateful this Thanksgiving.
Among these things is this. The talk of moving military forces from harm's war in Iraq is gaining momentum. And there seems to be an emerging consensus that the withdrawal needs to be gradual and perhaps tied to meeting benchmarks.
The WaPo oped (title linked above) asks the central political question. Which party will spearhead the movement to get our troops home from Iraq? The administration is certainly looking at the public opinion polls. Amazingly Defense Secretary Rumsfeld even said the words out loud as he made the rounds of last Sunday's talk shows. By the way, does anyone believe it is mere coincidence that the Pentagon is now actually talking about cutting the number of troops serving in Iraq?
Democratic Senator Barack Obama spoke out recently, calling on the Bush administration to admits its errors regarding Iraq and draw down the number of troops there next year. Other Democrats aslo seem to favor a gradual pullout. The article goes on to say,
As other Democrats are finding their voice against Iraq policy, Obama took an approach closer to one taken by Senate Foreign Relations Committee colleague Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) than to that of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.). Murtha, a former Marine, called last week for an immediate pullout of nearly 160,000 U.S. troops.
Four prospective Democratic presidential candidates -- Biden, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and former North Carolina senator John Edwards -- have advocated a more gradual approach, with no sudden steps. Biden called Monday for the withdrawal of 50,000 troops by the end of next year and all but 20,000 to 40,000 out by January 2008.
The mood is tentative, but my hope is emerging that there may be enough wisdom present in both parties to get us out of this mess. After all foreign policy is supposed to be bipartisan.
tag Iraq and politics
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