How the Dems will try to lose in iraq

James Robbins:

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There will be strong sentiment among some Democrats to cut funding for the Iraq war completely. They probably won’t do that right away, since the president would surely veto the bill if it is too extreme. It would also appear reckless to the large portion of the electorate that was not motivated by antiwar fervor. Yet, they will not allow funding to continue to grow, and will probably seek a major reduction. This will undoubtedly be couched in terms of “reorienting priorities” in the war on terrorism — shifting funds from Iraq to what will be called “homeland security” expenditures, actually rewards to their urban base. They will also push through largely symbolic funding measures for the hunt for Osama bin Laden so that if he turns up any time in the next two years they can claim credit....

The war effort will also be hampered since Pentagon is about to be hit by a rash of investigations as Democrats pay back the Angry Left part of their base with ritual humiliation of the architects of the war. One would guess that Secretary Rumsfeld would be a prime target, though others who have been in the Building since 2003 will also be on the list. Someone will have to go down. In a piece last May (anticipating this unfortunate development — sad to be right) I compared this election to 1874, when the Democrats took the House for the first time since the Civil War, in the middle of President Grant’s second term. Among others, they went after the secretary of War, William W. Belknap, who was impeached on bribery charges in 1876. Note that Belknap had already resigned before he was impeached, which set an interesting constitutional precedent. He was saved from conviction by the Republican controlled Senate, but the damage had been done....

One fears for the covert aspects of the war on terror, which are both necessary and beneficial. The “opposition by leak” technique that has hitherto been the m.o. will be replaced with formal hearings, the dominant motif being grandstanding with extreme umbrage....

Guantanamo and the other places in which terrorist detainees are held will come under serious scrutiny with the intent of closing them down....

My greatest fear is that this Republican loss will be seen by our adversaries as a great victory....

They are probably high fiving in their hidey holes at this moment. It will be much more difficult to defeat them with Democrats in charge of the House. Our allies in Iraq also have more reason to fear than our enemies in that country. Many Democrats want to do for Iraq what they did for South Vietnam.