A Question of Timetables

I get real tired of Bush complaining about Congress setting timetables for a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. He acts as if Congress has never set a timetable for withdrawal from a conflict. But as usual with Bush, what he says or implies (i.e., hopes you will think he is saying) is just not true.

In 1993 Republican senators attempted to force an immediate withdrawal of American troops from Somalia after the "Blackhawk Down" incident and then ultimately compromised on a compelled withdrawal in six months. "Compelled withdrawal," that's another word for a timetable folks, and it was a Republican Congress that set it (I won't even go into how Republicans have in recent years tried to blame the withdrawal of troops from Somalia on Clinton, saying that it was a catalyst for Osama bin Laden to wage war against us. We can save that bit of Republican hypocrisy for another day.).

The other thing is, you have to wonder about Bush's motives. Most insiders I hear on TV lately say he is just trying to push this whole mess off on the next administration, laboring under the hopelessly misguided notion that somehow it will not tarnish his legacy. Does that make any sense? Right now 60% of Americans want a timetable set and more than that want the war to end sometime soon. Those numbers only go up each month, not down. By the time we really get into election season, the vast majority of Americans will want to know what our troops are still doing in Iraq. How on Earth can this help a Republican running for President or Congress? The longer this gets stretched out the better the argument can be made that Republicans in the White House and in Congress do not listen to the will of the American people.

Or, is Bush so removed from reality that he just doesn't care?