Senate Passes Withdrawal Bill

51-46. Hegel and Gordon Smith voted in favor of it, I'm guessing.

Joe Lieberaman has a good point:

My colleague from Nevada, in other words, is suggesting that the insurgency is being provoked by the very presence of American troops. By diminishing that presence, then, he believes the insurgency will diminish.

But I ask my colleagues—where is the evidence to support this theory? Since 2003, and before General Petraeus took command, U.S. forces were ordered on several occasions to pull back from Iraqi cities and regions, including Mosul and Fallujah and Tel’Afar and Baghdad. And what happened in these places? Did they stabilize when American troops left? Did the insurgency go away?

On the contrary—in each of these places where U.S. forces pulled back, Al Qaeda rushed in. Rather than becoming islands of peace, they became safe havens for terrorists, islands of fear and violence.

So I ask advocates of withdrawal: on what evidence, on what data, have you concluded that pulling U.S. troops out will weaken the insurgency, when every single experience we have had since 2003 suggests that this legislation will strengthen it?

Faith-based foreign policy on the part of the Democrats, then?

Or simply lying? Claiming that withdrawal is not defeat but in fact some sort of novel way of winning in which we get to lose no further troops and Al Qaeda is somehow defeated, roundly and soundly, by our very absence?

I think the latter. No one is this stupid -- not even liberals.

A bit of speculation is going around that Lieberman may switch to the Republicans due to this vote, but Allah is doubtful. Me too.

And the hell of it is -- Lieberman's flipping wouldn't even give Senate orgainzational control back to the Republicans. Yeah, it seems true -- hit his link about that.

posted by Ace at 01:46 PM

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