Imagine that: Chuck Hagel a cut-and-runner.

Parent Cafe
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<p>I actually thought this opinion piece by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) printed today in the Washington Post was excellent, and I’m glad there is strong Republican support for getting the hell out of Iraq. The sooner the better.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401104.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112401104.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Leaving Iraq, Honorably</p>

<p>By Chuck Hagel
Sunday, November 26, 2006; B07</p>

<p>There will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis – not the Americans.</p>

<p>Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost. It is part of the ongoing global struggle against instability, brutality, intolerance, extremism and terrorism. There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger made this point last weekend.</p>

<p>The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation – regardless of our noble purpose.</p>

<p>We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans. Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. They will decide their fate and form of government.</p>

<p>It may take many years before there is a cohesive political center in Iraq. America’s options on this point have always been limited. There will be a new center of gravity in the Middle East that will include Iraq. That process began over the past few days with the Syrians and Iraqis restoring diplomatic relations after 20 years of having no formal communication.</p>

<p>What does this tell us? It tells us that regional powers will fill regional vacuums, and they will move to work in their own self-interest – without the United States. This is the most encouraging set of actions for the Middle East in years. The Middle East is more combustible today than ever before, and until we are able to lead a renewal of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, mindless destruction and slaughter will continue in Lebanon, Israel and across the Middle East.</p>

<p>We are a long way from a sustained peaceful resolution to the anarchy in Iraq. But this latest set of events is moving the Middle East in the only direction it can go with any hope of lasting progress and peace. The movement will be imperfect, stuttering and difficult.</p>

<p>America finds itself in a dangerous and isolated position in the world. We are perceived as a nation at war with Muslims. Unfortunately, that perception is gaining credibility in the Muslim world and for many years will complicate America’s global credibility, purpose and leadership. This debilitating and dangerous perception must be reversed as the world seeks a new geopolitical, trade and economic center that will accommodate the interests of billions of people over the next 25 years. The world will continue to require realistic, clear-headed American leadership – not an American divine mission.</p>

<p>The United States must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal from Iraq. The cost of combat in Iraq in terms of American lives, dollars and world standing has been devastating. We’ve already spent more than $300 billion there to prosecute an almost four-year-old war and are still spending $8 billion per month. The United States has spent more than $500 billion on our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And our effort in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, partly because we took our focus off the real terrorist threat, which was there, and not in Iraq.</p>

<p>We are destroying our force structure, which took 30 years to build. We’ve been funding this war dishonestly, mainly through supplemental appropriations, which minimizes responsible congressional oversight and allows the administration to duck tough questions in defending its policies. Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibility in the past four years.</p>

<p>It is not too late. The United States can still extricate itself honorably from an impending disaster in Iraq. The Baker-Hamilton commission gives the president a new opportunity to form a bipartisan consensus to get out of Iraq. If the president fails to build a bipartisan foundation for an exit strategy, America will pay a high price for this blunder – one that we will have difficulty recovering from in the years ahead.</p>

<p>To squander this moment would be to squander future possibilities for the Middle East and the world. That is what is at stake over the next few months.</p>

<p>The writer is a Republican senator from Nebraska.</p>

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<p>I think that there are quite a few Republicans in Congress who have been unhappy with the Iraq situation for a long time, and the restoration of Democratic control is going to give them the cover they need to support withdrawal of military forces. That is… they can now vote how they really feel, rather than succomb to party pressure to maintain loyalty to the lame-duck Bush administration… and if things don’t go well after the withdrawal, well then they can always blame that on the Democrats. I’ll bet that there are many, many Republicans in Congress who are hoping that the Baker-Hamilton commission report strongly favors a speedy withdrawal – “bipartinsanship” is a very useful concept for people who are not entirely comfortable with the choices made by their own party leadership.</p>

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<p>I suspect that you’re right. With a few notable exceptions, most of our senators are not knuckleheads. They can see what’s going on. Yes, they’re only telling the truth now because the political cost of doing so has decreased. But I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad reason for a public servant to tell the truth. I’m grateful to see this, no matter what brought it about.</p>

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<p>Not a matter of “if” they will withdraw, but “when”. It’s now inevitable (thank G-d).</p>

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<p>Hagel has been off the reservation for at least a couple of years. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s going to be any signficant number of defections. The Republicans will just continue to form up in hollow square, eyes front, ignoring the stench behind them and the hideosity that is Iraq in front of them. See, if they abandon Bush, then they risk get caught up in a intra-Republican civil war…now there’s a thought…Sunni Republicans vs. Shiite Republicans, probably differing over who’s the descendant successor to Dick Cheney. Nope, Bush got 'em to power, kept 'em in power, and they’ll go down with the ship. I’d stand by to machine gun any survivors in the water, just in case. But watch, there will be a lot of squirming as they try to dumb down the threshhold for “victory.”</p>