What Must Be Done

The disassociation politicians create within themselves to separate their political gamesmanship from the effect that it has on the real lives of their constituency is often questionable, if not immoral. In no circumstances is this hypothetical more true than war. When the pieces on the chess board bleed suffer and die, the moral imperative must always be at the forefront of policy decisions.

With applications in the current circumstance, not only would doing the right thing serve a higher purpose; but it would also lend important political distinctions that would open up war proponents to isolation and criticism. However, to this day, the Democratic Party refuses to do what must be done.

The first objective is seizing the opportunity to redefine the failed Iraq policy in terms more stark and real than currently propagated by the White House and its GOP sycophants. This means the end of weak qualifiers for dissent of this war; no more terms such as ‘poorly initiated policy,’ or other terminology designed to render the problems in Iraq as Gomer Pyle-like mismanagement.

This means we have to finally stop triangulating, and discuss the war for what it was, is, and will be for recorded history: an illegal, immoral policy, driven by intentionally-corrupted evidence shoe-horned by fervent operatives at the hands of the President and Vice President over the objections of intelligence officials at a time when the American people were susceptible to deceit. That the war was doomed from its outset, and that an honorable and clean withdrawal may not be possible. That the status quo may only continue to degrade and entrap us more in this failed policy if we fail to take initiative and leave.

And finally, this means that we must leave Iraq today, and if not today, then tomorrow; and if not tomorrow, then the day after. As pressure against the war policy has become a national movement, Republicans have taken refuge in knowing that the left party will never force the issue. Behind every challenge from Republican operatives to cut off funding for the war is palpable fear. A vote on either the Feingold or Obama resolution will put every member of the House and Senate on record about the war and its prospects for future success. There are only two outcomes from this issue reaching the floor: either it will die at the hands of the Republican Guard who will lose office in a year and a half as result; or the war will be ended. I fail to see the harm of either alternative.

But then again, nobody in Congress is going to lay awake tonight wondering if they’ll still have all their limbs tomorrow; much less their lives. Stop the games. End the War.