Harry Reid and Iraq Troop Surge

It's truly infuriating to read stories like this. I am baffled as to what Harry Reid is thinking by advocating a short term surge in troop deployment. This is an incredibly unpopular proposal, almost certain to result in failure, and highly likely to work in favor of Democrats looking toward 2008. For a couple months now, John McCain has been advocating an increase of at least 20,000 troops to win in Iraq. He's said he can't morally support the war unless the commanders are given enough troops to fight it. After the the elections, the Baker Commission, and the ousting of Rumsfeld, it seemed that Bush might finally be readjusting his strategy. I honestly believed for about a week that we were going to see some modest changes. Just the opposite is happening. It looked like McCain was trying to contrast himself with Bush and disassociate himself with Bush's failed Iraq policy. With several recent leaks to major papers indicating that the troop surge looks like the most likely course of action for 2007, it looks like McCain's bluff is going to be called.

Iraq will be in just a big a mess in 2008 as it is now, especially if more troops are sent there. And McCain, the likely Republican presidential candidate, would own the failed strategy. But how can Democrats say it's all McCain's fault if the Democratic party leader is advocating a similar strategy? Harry Reid can claim he was okay with a brief increase in troops, so long as they were out by early 2008, as the Baker Commission recommends, but detailed, complex explanations like that DON'T WORK. Remember John Kerry and John Edwards trying to explain their Iraq War votes? Talk, talk, talk, talk. In contemporary American politics, candidates need to be able to articulate their differences with the other candidate in 20 seconds.

Democrats should be able to say: Bush has ignored a bipartisan commission to draw down troops -- he wants to send more -- he refuses to change his failed policy. Democrats support the findings of the Baker Commission which gives the Iraqis sufficient time to prepare to fight for their own country and eventually allows our troops to come home. That's it.

Okay, so Harry Reid might be able to get away with this. He's just one Democrat and he doesn't speak for everybody in the party. But 2008 presidential candidates need to be fully aware that the positions they take today will profoundly impact them in the next two years.