Reid remains desperate for defeat in Iraq

Politico:

Democrats are increasingly bailing on their previously held view that the troop surge in Iraq has been a "failure," but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn't ready to jump on the bandwagon with other Democrats who say the surge has worked.

The Senate re-opened for business on Monday after a two-week Thanksgiving break, during which key Democrats traveled to Iraq and declared that the surge is working, at least from a security and military perspective. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), one the top war critics, stunned fellow Democrats late last week with his statement that "the surge is working," even though he added that political reconciliation has been lagging. Murtha's view was backed by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who also said the surge worked after he returned from Iraq.

But Reid, in a Monday press conference, ceded no ground.

"The surge hasn't accomplished its goals," Reid said. "... We're involved, still, in an intractable civil war."

Reid's comments show that Democratic leaders in Washington may not be on the same page as their rank-and-file members when it comes to interpreting results on the ground in Iraq. Reid, as a leader, still needs to maintain some negotiating leverage as Democrats try to figure out a way to give President Bush some $50 billion in temporary war finding while at least attaching some strings to the money so it's not a blank check for the war.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) took to the Senate floor on Monday to highlight the "stunning reversal" in Iraq, and chided Democrats, saying "unfortunately, talk of congratulations is scarce among the anti-war left."

Reid said Monday that the Senate still might take up a war funding bill before Christmas, and Democrats were still trying to find a compromise so it doesn't look like they've caved in to the White House on troop funding. Democrats are considering tweaking troop withdrawal language to lure a few more GOP supporters so the Senate could achieve a 60-vote filibuster-proof margin.

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If the Democrat senators have any sense they will tweak the war funding to look like they want to win. Besides there are probably not enough enemy left in Iraq to surrender to. Al Qaeda is moving its chess pieces to Pakistan and Afghanistan, that is the few that are left. It is also running out of money. Perhaps Reid wants to withhold funding to make it fair.

Fundamentally Reid is so invested in defeat he can't make an honest assessment of the situation. When anti war Senators like Jim Webb say we are winning, Reid is in trouble.