Non-binding Resolutions and the Victory Caucus

I am, if not addicted, at least a heavy user of political news. Typically I satisfy this craving with conservative talk radio (1460am & 740am in C/S) with an occasional Internet/blog chaser. To illustrate how serious this has gotten, let me give this example. My favorite band of all times is probably Pink Floyd. I can’t even remember the last time I listened to Floyd and given the choice between Micheal Medved and Another Brick in the Wall, I’d probably take Medved. I understand that this is an uncommon affliction among people my age, but it is what it is. It is because of my prodigious consumption of political news and others lack thereof that I write this.

I have been a supporter of President Bush’s policy on Iraq from the beginning. Please don’t believe the caricature that this means a blind belief that we can do no wrong (as people like me have been portrayed). I understand that some strategies have been poorly planned and others poorly executed. I understand that WMDs were not found in the volume that was expected. I understand that Abu Ghraib was at the very least a PR nightmare and at worst a tipping point for the negative in the hearts and minds campaign. I understand that the disbanding and de-Baathification of the Iraqi Army led to a larger more virulent insurgency and slower advancements in the capacity to deal with it. Here is my rebuttal to these mistakes: That’s war, folks. The science of destruction that is the military’s specialty is inexact at best. Volumes can be and already have been written about strategic errors and outright stupidity just within US military history.

What I cannot understand is how past mistakes justify making a bad situation worse. A cynical person, opposed to the war from the start, should at least be able to couch their criticisms in “you break it, you buy it.” Here are the facts:

1. Despite their current spinelessness, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to authorize the use of force (the "we were duped by cooked intelligence" excuse is a cop-out).
2. Whether or not you believe that Saddam was a supporter of international terrorism, Iraq is currently the central front for the Jihadist movement.
3. Those Jihadist are not offended by our presence in Babylon, they are offended by our existence.
4. If they are not fighting us there, they will come here (a la 9/11).

I am disappointed, but not particularly surprised by the current congressional trend toward non-binding resolutions of disapproval for the troop surge. Once again, here are the facts:

1. The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed General Patraeus as the commander of forces in Iraq after he explained his vision and goals for the surge.
2. Now they have audacity to complain about lack of oversight (not a constitutional authority of that body).
3. They are determined to pass a resolution that expresses their disapproval.
4. Ironically, the Democrat majority will only allow votes on resolutions that do NOTHING in order to sit on the asinine fence between disapproval and de-funding the troops in Iraq(their only constitutional power in war).

This overly in-depth post all leads to my recommending the Victory Caucus. It is an online source of news on the backpedaling legislators who feel the need to publicly express their a pointless opinion that encourages the enemy to stand firm and in doing so, discourage our brave fighting men and women. By registering at the VC (not Viet Cong), you can add your name to the group that vows to hold spineless politicians' feet to the fire.

"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it."

-- George Orwell

Update: Dean Barnett, poster on Hugh Hewitt's blog was kind enough to point out something that I missed on Victory Caucus this morning. Movecongress.org trumpets their exclusive briefing with Congressman John Murtha in which they state.

Chairman Murtha will describe his strategy for not only limiting the deployment of troops to Iraq but undermining other aspects of the President’s foreign and national security policy.

That's right, Murtha's goal is to undermine the foreign policy of the elected head of the US government. The most damning aspect of this story is that, caught in the act of honesty, movecongress.org removed the blurb that was quickly becoming popular ammunition for Iraq war supporters. Too late, kids.