Battle Lines Drawn Over Iraq Politics

It would appear that the leading members of the Democratic Party have gotten together and decided to step-up the anti-war, anti-Iraq rhetoric. On December 4, John Kerry was on Face the Nation on CBS where he called U.S. soldiers terrorists.

You've got to begin to transfer authority to the Iraqis. And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs.

Yesterday, Howard Dean was a guest on a Texas radio station where he stated that the U.S. cannot win the war in Iraq.

Dean said he wished President Bush "had paid more attention to the history of Iraq before we had gotten in there."

"The idea that we are going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong," he said.

How politically brain dead can someone be? There are many valid reasons that one might oppose the war in Iraq. Or oppose any war, for that matter. I know many people that truly are pacifists, and firmly and passionately believe that war is never the answer. I don't agree with these people, but they are free to believe, think, and say what they will and I respect their right to do so.

Why is it that others can't stop there? Opposing the war in Iraq doesn't make U.S. soldiers evil terrorists. Opposing the war in Iraq doesn't mean that it has to be doomed to failure from the beginning. Do they really think they can gain political favor with the majority of the country by making statements like the ones above? I'm sure parents whose children are serving in Iraq are most pleased to hear Kerry call their sons and daughters terrorists.

From a political junkie's perspective, I'll be fascinated to see if this approach is as disastrous as I think it will be. It is interesting to note that the Democratic Party as a whole can't seem to get aligned on this issue. Murtha put forth a withdrawal deadline bill, but when a vote was forced everyone voted against it. Lieberman wrote about the progress he has witnessed in Iraq and now there is a bizarre call by Democrats for Bush to replace Rumsfield with Lieberman.

Perhaps I have too much faith in the U.S. population as a whole, but I can't believe these hyperbolic, negative rants by some members of the party mixed with supportive statements by other members and a lack of consistency from all is an effective strategy for the Democratic party.