Congressman James Clyburn, who two years ago said it “would be a problem for us” Democrats if the “surge” worked in Iraq, no longer supports an arbitrary U.S. withdrawal deadline.
“We want to get this thing right …,” he said three days ago. “So there’s no need to hold fast to a 16-month timetable when you can take your time and do it in 18 months.”
Obviously, President Bush’s “surge” worked and democracy has triumphed over tyranny in Iraq. Note yesterday’s peaceful Iraqi elections. And with President Obama now in the White House, for Clyburn, there’s no longer a reason to root for failure in Iraq.
2008 close call. Clyburn was one of many Democrats who voted in 2007 to require that all U.S. troops be out of Iraq by March 31, 2008. Had that bill passed, Iraq’s young democratic government would have been overrun by the fascists and fanatics, and Iraq yesterday would have been trading genocidal bombings instead of casting ballots.
Clyburn was asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show if he believes Obama, who also had voted as a senator for the March 2008 pull-out deadline, will keep his presidential campaign promise to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq in 16 months -- that is, by May 20, 2010.
“Well, he [Obama] also said during the campaign that he would follow the advice of the people on the ground, and that’s what he was doing yesterday, consulting with them, trying to develop a way forward to get this done in a way that will allow him to focus where he would like to focus, and that’s on Afghanistan, and draw down in Iraq.
“And I think all this is taking place -- and I’ve been following the discussion -- and I’m very pleased with the pace that we’re going.
“I don’t want to see him rush into anything. We want to get this thing right, just like we’re trying to do with the economy. So there’s no need to try to hold fast to a 16-month timetable when you can take your time and do it in 18 months.”
Nasty politics. Again, as nasty as this is, this is a big reason I voted for Obama. With full responsibility, the Democrats will have to behave responsibly. Most news reporters and editors are solidly Democratic, so as hypocritical as it will be, they’ll go easy on Obama if he breaks his 16-month pull-out promise. MSNBC already proved my point. The reporter did not even blink when Clyburn made his 180-degree turn.
For two years, the Democrats supported an Iraq withdrawal deadline only because they hoped it would sabotage the liberation of Iraq while a Republican was president.
That psychopathic plan is behind them. The Democrats have been forced to grow up.
Frank Warner
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