Surge debate in the House

C-SPAN is covering the debate over the Bush administration’s “surge” policy in Iraq in the House of Representatives. This debate over what to do in Iraq is long overdue. It is taking place because of the results of the 2006 election, which put the control over the House in the hands of the Democrats.

So, forget about blogging feuds and even the business-as-usual shenanigans of the poseurs in Virginia’s General Assembly for a day or so. Please, pay attention to what is being said on the floor of House about the most important issue of our time.

Briefly told, in my view here are the basic differences:

Although those who are rising to support the Bush “surge” policy say it is a new strategy, they are using the same old words to support it. They continue to see Iraq as the most important battlefield of a worldwide war against terror that the USA launched to respond to the attacks of 9/11. They continue to believe democracy can be imposed on the divided Iraqi people by America. They say again that we must stay on to finish the job, in order to justify the sacrifice of the Americans who have died in Iraq.

Those who are rising to speak against the surge are saying enough is enough. The war in Iraq was a mistake to begin with, based on bogus intelligence reports. The mission has shifted from one thing to another the whole time the American armed forces have been there. Today, staying the course in Iraq is just piling more mistakes on those already made. They doubt democracy can be imposed on anybody, anywhere, by outside forces. They say we must stop pouring American lives and treasure into what is clearly a folly that is getting worse.

But my summaries are mine. Another writer would write it differently. This is a time to hear for yourself what is being said. Tune into C-SPAN and listen/watch to this lesson in civics. And, while you do, be thankful that we live in a country where this debate is taking place in the sunlight.