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Petty mouths
By Brandon Pearce
bpearce@mscd.edu

After four weeks of wrangling, the newly empowered house Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, have passed a nonbinding resolution voicing their opposition to President Bush’s effort to win the war in Iraq. The more-balanced Senate wisely rejected it.

What is a nonbinding resolution? In short, it is an officially stated position by members of Congress. It forces each member of Congress to declare which side of the issue they stand. It has no power to change the policies or plans of the president. In fact, the only possible effect passing this resolution will have will be the sustenance of the enemy and the demoralization of our troops.

We have already heard al-Qaida leaders, including Osama himself, using the Democrats’ opposition as propaganda to their fighters. Rest assured that they have gotten this important message and will use it to let our enemies know that if they can just hold out a little longer, the Americans will give up.

So what could be motivating the Democrats to pass this sort of resolution? For them this vote is for the future. They have thrown their political chips on the table. In a high-stakes game of political gambling, the Democrats have bet the house on our defeat in Iraq. They realize that how the troops come home will determine the political landscape for the next eight years. If the troops come home victorious from a free and secure Iraq, then the Republicans win. If the troops come home defeated from an Iraq overrun by mass murdering terrorists and insurgents, then the Democrats win.

The Iraq Study Group, a nonpartisan research group, recently submitted a report detailing the problems we are having in Iraq and predicting the results of various scenarios. One scenario upon which they were unanimous is that leaving Iraq without an Iraqi government that can hold its own against the insurgents would be disastrous for the United States.

First, it would be a major victory for al-Qaida and other nefarious groups, which would boost recruitment to their cause. Second, it would validate the depraved, heart-sickening tactics the insurgents have used to sow havoc in the area. Third, it would give them a staging area to plan and oil revenues to fund future attacks against Americans. Finally, it would give Iran the go-ahead to continue enriching weapons-grade uranium.

This nonbinding resolution will help to make these nightmares a reality, but what do the Democrats care? They will be back in power.

Does their disagreement with the man running the war make them feel somehow abrogated of the responsibility for causing the war to end disastrously? For the Democrats this nonbinding resolution is just one step toward achieving their true objective: to hang a “loser” sign around the neck of George Bush, and our national security and troops be damned. There are only three words to describe these newly empowered Democrats: petty, petty and petty.