Say Anything Blog

AntiWar.com - The House of Representatives voted down a measure, by a 128 to 300 vote, that called on President Bush to devise a plan for a withdrawal from Iraq. It came in the form of an amendment to the $491 billion budget for the Pentagon that was passed on Wednesday night.

But the withdrawal amendment marks the first time that Congress has officially voted and debated legislation that deals with a withdrawal.

"No, it won't pass today, but it will give us a chance to talk about it," said Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), the sponsor of the amendment. "It's an opportunity for members of Congress who are frustrated that our troops are being killed for a war that wasn't necessary in the first place and that there is no plan in sight to bring them home."

Very, very stupid. Internal discussion among our nation's leaders regarding a time frame for pulling troops out of Iraq is one thing, but asking the President to make a public a plan for pulling out the troops is lunacy. Making such a date public only gives our enemies in Iraq a date to shoot for as far as their resistance goes. It gives them something they can comfort themselves with. "Sure we're getting our butts kicked now" they'll tell themsleves, "But the Americans will be gone in four months. We just need to hold out until then."

Also, any such announced plan would only serve as fodder for political attacks from the anti-war left should something not go to plan. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that "No plan survives the first engagement with the enemy." We've been engaged with the enemy in Iraq for some time now, but that doesn't mean that the wisdom of that statement doesn't apply. We went to Iraq seeking to win freedom for the Iraqi people and security for ourselves. If we are going to leave Iraq we should do so because we've accomplished those objectives, not because a bunch of Washington bureaucrats are looking to score political points by setting an arbitrary date for ending the mission.