An Admission of Defeat
Today, President Bush vetoed a proposed Iraq spending bill, calling the bill’s timetable for withdrawal of American troops an admission of defeat. The bill, which allotted funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, called for the withdrawal of American troops ending in March of 2008 with all combat forces out of Iraq. The president stated that signing the bill would be equal to admitting defeat to the terrorists and insurgents fighting in Iraq, therefore, refusing to sign the bill.
It is my opinion that defeat and victory are no longer what this country should be thinking about. We have had to come to this conclusion in Korea, again in Vietnam, and now in Iraq. What difference does it make if we win this war? More importantly, what constitutes a victory? If we “win” this war, will that bring the 3000 plus American soldiers back to life, or will end the suffering of those soldiers’ parents? No, it will not. It is time for us to end this war, victory or no, mission accomplished or not. Those things are not important. What is important are the lives of those soldiers still fighting the war and those who will be sent there in the near future (or if Bush has his way the distant future). To those who say that withdrawing without a definite victory would disgrace the memories of those soldiers who have already died in the war, I say that allowing any more soldiers to die is even more disgraceful.
The real issue here is President Bush’s ego. To withdraw the troops would be to admit that he was wrong, a thing that he refuses to do. It is time for him to rise above his own ego and do what is good for this country for a change. Congress should not relent in their work to end this war. Rather, Bush should give up on a futile endeavor and bring our troops home before more young lives are cut short and before more mothers lose their sons and daughters. Congress should pass another bill with the same timetable. If Bush vetoes that one, they should do it again and again and again until he gets the point that we, the American people do not support this war. If he claims that we are denying the soldiers the money that they need to fight the war then we should simply state the truth. It is not we who are denying the soldiers their funds, it is President Bush. His stubbornness has cost the lives of 3000 plus soldiers and anymore that die because of a lack of funding will be on his conscious as well. It is time for him to do the honorable thing, the responsible thing, and sign a bill that withdraws American troops. Our job is not over until he does.
From the brilliant mind of Mike Kean, your friendly Sergeant at Arms