Dems frantically demanding relevance

The Dems are downright embarrassing themselves over their new troop withdrawal antics. After discussions of potetial troop withdrawals were leaked the Dems have latched onto the words "troop" and "withdrawal" and are now claiming how similar the plan they proposed last week is to the one being considered. According to AP:

A Pentagon troop withdrawal plan is among options being considered for Iraq, the White House said Monday. President Bush said U.S. troop levels will be determined by military commanders, the new Iraqi government and conditions on the ground.

Bush told reporters he would await a recommendation from Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. "And one of the things General Casey assured me of was that whatever recommendation he makes, it'll be aimed toward achieving victory," Bush said.

"And victory means a free government that is able to sustain itself, defend itself," Bush said. The president said he was briefed by Casey at the White House on Friday.

Such is the danger of leaks that you only see the part that was leaked. It is like walking around a corner only to hear the last part of a conversation which can easily be taken out of context. Leaks also place politicians in such a position that anything said after the leak to clarify is framed in a cloud of doubt. So I am sure the clarification that this plan is one of several being considered will be met with many liberal smirks.

Even if this is the only plan being considered, what the Dems are refusing to see is the approach to planning. At no time during the debate last week did the Dems ever state that we are ready to begin a victorious troop withdrawal plan. Their debate ranged from "cut and run" to "cut and jog". Their points of debate stemmed from negatives being the catalyst for withdrawal. It was from the standpoint of "ready or not we must get out of there".

The plan being discussed is a consideration of how ready the Iraqi troops are going to be to take over their defense in full. It is still a relative timetable since actual implementation would be dependent upon whether the Iraqi troops actually achieve the level of readiness expected by the plan. The Dems have made fools of themselves by refusing to understand the concept of a relative timetable. It is quite simple: When Iraqi troops ready and both the US and Iraqi government agree, withdraw troops. This as opposed to: July 2007 withdraw all troops regardless of readiness; telegraphing the exact time of departure to the enemy so they can lay low until that date and begin slaughtering Shiites. Since the Dems are blinded by the mass accumulation of political hay in the air, they ensure that they are incapable of understanding that simple concept.

So we have some Democrat whining going on. According to AP:

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urged his Senate colleagues "to note how similar General Casey's apparent plan to withdraw U.S. forces is to the plan put forward by Senate Democrats last week." That plan was rejected by majority-party Republicans.

"I wonder how the majority feels today, now that General Casey's plan is in the open?" said Reid. "Do they disagree with General Casey that we need to begin ending the open-ended commitment in Iraq? Do they still believe a plan for reducing our troops levels is defeatist and unpatriotic?"

Am I remembering it wrong or was the plan put out by Senate Democrats last week also soundly rejected by Democrats as well as GOP? Didn't the "Cut and Run" plan only get 3 votes and the "Cut and Jog" plan only 13? I don't have a ready link to that since it was more humorous than significant. In any event it was not the party line vote that Reid is alluding to. Reid also just blows by the statement "now that General Casey's plan is in the open" without any concern whatsoever about the leaking involved in that plan. They seem to be unconcerned about any critical security leaks. Finally, yes a demand for reducing troop levels on a fixed timetable based on negative events without regard for victory is still defeatist and unpatriotic. Reid is like a pouting child in these situations.

So while Dems try to capitalize on this, they show themselves to be grasping for relevance. When viewing these tantrums it is simply impossible that the words leadership or statesmanship come to mind. Words like childish, whiner, and pouting come to my mind. Once again they make the point for us that they cannot be entrusted with leadership.