Are the Democrats Really Interested in Ending the War?

Amidst Wednesday’s coverage of the Senate’s late-night debate on a piece of Democratic legislation to withdraw US forces from Iraq, the BBC reported this tidbit:

The BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says most Republicans who are unhappy with the current course in Iraq favour less direct measures to influence policy and were hoping to vote on these in the next few days. However, our correspondent says, it appears that, for the moment, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid does not want to allow them to do so. He has directed the Senate to move on to discussion of legislation unrelated to the Iraq war.

And why is this? If Reid and his fellow Senate Democrats (including all of the party’s leading presidential hopefuls) were really interested in bringing home the troops – and not just making political hay out of the war’s growing unpopularity at home – they’d be exploring other options with moderate Republicans. But they’re not. Why? Because it wouldn’t be dramatic enough and it would rob the Democrats of the ‘us versus them’ victory they’re looking for.

I say it’s high time the Democrats stop playing around with the lives of American servicemen for political gain, the very thing – ironically – they accuse the GOP of having done.