Commander in Chief – or in Desperation?

To the dismay of many Americans, and no doubt people in nations allied with the United States, President Bush is thinking of putting into harm’s way thousands more in our military services.

Why, Mr. President? To be partisan about it, even members of your own party are questioning your judgment. And don’t get the Democrats started.

“The public is way ahead of the Congress saying that enough is enough,” Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) said a few days ago. That after Iraqi fatalities among Americans has exceeded 3,000 and the wounded far outnumber the dead. On New Year’s Day, The New York Times ran the photos of 1,000 of the dead – teenagers, men and women in their 20s and 30s, a few in their 50s. They’re mostly from small towns across the country, according to a report in The Financial Times.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nevada) said in a letter to the president: “Our troops and the American people have already sacrificed a great deal for the future of Iraq. After nearly four years of combat, tens of thousands of U.S. casualties, and over $300 billion dollars, it is time to bring the war to a close. We, therefore, strongly encourage you to reject any plans that call for our getting our troops any deeper into Iraq. We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success.”

The President’s message tonight has to be slamming to convince a whole lot of us that sending 21,000 more people to Bagdad makes any kind of sense.