DISPATCHES

Democrats offer leadership vacuum on war.

By: Hank Kalet
   The debate over America’s involvement in Iraq seems to be moving forward without the help of the nation’s minority party.
   The Democrats, despite some high-profile comments by U.S. Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, remain on the fence about the war. Purported presidential contenders like Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Hillary Clinton of New York have both offered convoluted positions that include vague calls for withdrawal of American troops to begin, maybe, possibly sometime next year.
   Democrats, according to a story in The Washington Post on Wednesday, remain concerned that they will be painted by Republicans as less trustworthy or capable on security matters than Republicans — even though the current Republican administration has created a debacle in Iraq and has managed to worsen our image in the Muslim world, which is no mean feat.
   These are the basic realities, as I understand them:
   1. The war in Iraq is in stalemate. The moderate strides forward that have been made — and it would be unfair not to note that there have been some positive moments — are overshadowed by violence and instability in a nation that is descending into civil war.
   2. The American presence is only making things worse, acting as a catalyst for the violence.
   3. The American public has lost faith in the war, sees it as a mistake and believes that the president and his minions lied and dissembled to ensure that he could send in troops.
   The moment is ripe for someone to place on the table a plan for ending this calamity. Which is where Rep. Murtha, who has long been considered the most hawkish of Democrats, comes in. Rep. Murtha wants the United States to begin withdrawing troops immediately as part of a transition to an international presence in Iraq. American troops would remain in the region on alert, ready to return if circumstances dictate. In addition, the plan calls for stepped-up diplomatic efforts that could help undo the damaged done to our reputation in the region.
   Rep. Murtha is no softy. He spent 37 years in either the active military or the reserves and has a record on military issues that would make most Republicans look like hippie doves.
   Rep. Murtha voted for the war in 2002, but now sees it as a sap on the military. Recruitment is down, placing a greater burden on current soldiers, ground equipment is worn out and money is becoming hard to find. And the war is enflaming the insurgency, making stability and democracy in Iraq impossible.
   "Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency," he said last month. "They are united against U.S. forces, and we have become a catalyst for violence."
   And yet, far too many Democrats are unwilling to do what needs to be done.
   "Democratic candidates said their biggest concern is that voters will misconstrue comments by party leaders about Bush’s handling of the war as criticism of U.S. troops who are fighting in Iraq," The Washington Post wrote Wednesday.
   The story quotes U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, as being concerned that comments from Rep. Murtha, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and national party Chairman Howard Dean could be misconstrued as favoring retreat.
   "What I want Democrats to be discussing is what the president’s policies have led to," he told the Post and not formal timelines for withdrawal.
   But isn’t this what Jack Murtha and Nancy Pelosi are talking about? And if the Democrats believe — as I believe — that the president’s policies have led to disaster, don’t the Democrats have a responsibility to talk about what to do next? Isn’t that what leadership requires?
   If the Democrats want a simple message to take to voters in 2006, they could do worse than the comment Rep. Murtha offered to close his November speech:
   "Our military has done everything that has been asked of them. The U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home."
Hank Kalet is managing editor of the South Brunswick Post and The Cranbury Press. His e-mail is [email protected].