WaPo to Congress: Stop Being Stupid, You Morons
Well, that’s not exactly what the Washington Post’s editorial board said, but it was close:
ON TUESDAY nearly every member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warmly endorsed Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, and a number wished him success or “Godspeed” in his mission. Yesterday some of the same senators voted for a resolution that opposes the increase of troops for Gen. Petraeus’s command — even though the general testified that he could not accomplish his mission without the additional forces and hinted that such a resolution could encourage the enemy. Such is the muddle of Congress on Iraq: A majority may soon go on record opposing the new offensive in Baghdad even while encouraging the commander who leads it.
… legislators need a better way to act on their opposition to the current policy than the passage of nonbinding resolutions that may cover them politically but have no practical impact — other than, perhaps, the negative one suggested by the general.
As it happens, Gen. Petraeus made his own suggestion at Tuesday’s hearing, offering to report to Congress regularly about the mission, including updates on the performance by Iraqis on their commitments. “I want to assure you that should I determine that the new strategy cannot succeed, I will provide such an assessment,” he said. Taking Gen. Petraeus up on that, and closely and systematically monitoring the progress of events in Iraq during the coming months, is probably the best contribution that Congress can make to helping the new American commander address what he calls a “dire” situation.
Meanwhile, Pelosi says she wasn’t consulted on Iraq:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that President George W. Bush did not consult her before announcing his new strategy for the war in Iraq — a sign that, despite the cozy rhetoric, the relationship between Washington’s two powerhouses has already had its share of friction.
Actually, I’d call that a sign that, even though he looks chimpy and says things like “nucular,” he’s a lot smarter than they give him credit for.
Mohammed, Iraq the Model, at PJM: Strangely Quiet in Baghdad.
Nibras Kazimi, New York Sun, “Turnaround,” says the Sunni insurgency is on the ropes and Sunnis just want to be protected from the Shiites. ”The lesson to be learned is to keep killing the killers until they realize their fate.” Fails to take his article the next step and discuss how that axiom applies to the Shiite militias as well as the Sunni insurgents, however.
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Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:30 pm Comments (5) on Thursday, January 25, 2007
5 Responses to “WaPo to Congress: Stop Being Stupid, You Morons”
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January 25th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Hmmmm, trying to remember, where the hell I re…ummmm, quickly looked at a statement to the effect that, the Constitution assigns NO power to a Congress to micromanage a war. Which is what they are doing.
January 25th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Pelosi would appear to have amnesia (I’m in a charitable mood) as Bush consulted with Congressional leaders in December and again in January. Pelosi just didn’t like what the President was saying.
January 26th, 2007 at 4:20 am
You have to realize it doesn’t count as “consulting” unless he does what she tells him.
January 26th, 2007 at 5:01 am
Does anyone else find it disconcerting to constantly read about congressmen and women who haven’t a clue about the separation of powers–or any other aspect of the Constitution that once governed the Republic? They obviously never heard of “Congress shall make no law…,” but I thought they had some idea of their job. My naivety never ceases to amaze me.
January 26th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Telling Congress to stop being stupid is like telling Michael Moore to stop eating hot dogs. It’s within the realm of possibility somewhere in one of the parallel universes.