War on Terror ... editorial from Times-Dispatch

The Richmond Times-Dispatch hit the nail on the head today with their editorial A Hard Place - The War on Terror:

Congress has passed legislation that effectively sets a timetable for success in Iraq. If victory isn't achieved by a date certain, the troops will come home. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid says that if President George Bush vetoes the bill, he will urge Congress to cut off funding immediately.

The original bill is unworthy. A veto is not only desired but obligatory. Nevertheless, Reid might be onto something.

Congressional micromanagement in Iraq is bad enough. The legislation sets a precedent that might make all future wars unwinnable. Establish- ing a timetable merely would say to the enemies of progress that they need only wait -- the U.S. will leave before the mission is completed, and once Nancy Pelosi and her ringers welcome the Americans home jihadist extremists can claim Iraq as their very own. Congress has the authority to authorize war (ideally, it should declare it), but once war begins it ought to step to the side -- unless . . .

. . . It decides it is time to quit.

Enter Reid.

Congressional Democrats implicitly say the Iraq deployment has failed. Yet they lack the moxie to take a solid stand. An obscure timetable shifts decisions to the future; it passes the buck. Reid's defeatist threat has the virtue of clarity. It would end the war now. Or at least it would end American intervention in Iraq. The majority does not think victory is possible; failure is only a matter of time.

Why wait?

If Congress wants the U.S. out of Iraq, then at least let it take honest steps to get the U.S. out. The timetable represents withdrawal without responsibility. It reflects a posture, not a policy. Democrats have a real choice -- either cut off funds now, or let the armed forces and the commander-in-chief do their jobs.

The democrats ... using the same playbook from the Vietnam era ... the Party of "cut-and-run." Give them a history lesson in World War II ... make them talk with military leaders ... get it into their thick heads war is not a tea party that can be run on a set schedule with no unexpected interruptions.

But that would take common sense, something I think is sadly lacking in the democrat party ... and that's why I don't want them in charge of the safety and security of my family.