EDITORIAL – Dems exercise reason, concern

Usually when we talk about predictable action in politics, we’re lamenting the latest… Usually when we talk about predictable action in politics, we’re lamenting the latest actions of the Bush administration and the decaying conditions in Iraq. But now, predictably, for the fist time in months, Congress is giving us hope that we might make it out of this debacle after all.

The predictability we’re referring to is the Democrats’ stance on Iraq. It’s no secret that Americans aren’t happy with the way things are going and that we expected things to change when the Democrats assumed power in Congress. That’s why we elected them. We’re extremely pleased, however, with the reason and concern apparent in the latest comments made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

“This war [would] cost a trillion dollars if it ended now,” Pelosi said in an Associated Press article. “But more important than that, the lives lost, the casualties sustained, the lost reputation in the world, and the damage to our military readiness. For these and other reasons, we have to say to the president, in your speech … we want to see a plan in a new direction because the direction you’ve been taking us in has not been successful.”

The time for giving President Bush unlimited funding to play war in the Middle East is over. The Democrats are going to hold the president responsible and demand comprehensive justification for sending more troops in a largely unfavorable direction.

“If the president chooses to escalate the war, in his budget request, we want to see a distinction between what is there to support the troops who are there now,” Pelosi said.

“The American people and the Congress support those troops. We will not abandon them. But if the president wants to add to this mission, he is going to have to justify it, and this is new for him because up until now the Republican Congress has given him a blank check with no oversight, no standards, no conditions,” Pelosi said.

While no one is sure exactly where this battle is going – Bush is expected to announce his plans to send more troops to Iraq by Wednesday – we do know that Democrats are interested in increasing the size of our depleted Army and Marine Corps. They’re not, however, interested in sending those troops to Iraq.

To critics of the Democrats’ stance, you can’t say it’s un-American. It’s far from it. The Democrats’ first concern is making sure the troops currently in Iraq have all the resources they need to be safe and successful. Sending more troops over isn’t going to make the situation better. It’s a proven mistake. Our first priority is the well-being of our troops in Iraq, followed by bringing them home. We can’t undo the chaos we’ve created in Iraq, and our presence isn’t making things better. It’s time to cut our losses and make sure we don’t lose any more of our valued troops to a cause that is no longer justifiable – if it ever was.