Sunday, July 15, 2007

Joe's Folly

Bill Curry in the Hartford Courant.

Joe's "new course" is escalation. Smart of him not to mention that in any ads. He's one of Bush's two best spear carriers, the other being John McCain, currently being trampled by Republicans.

This past week, the White House issued an interim Iraq report. It claims progress on just eight of 18 "benchmarks" and stretches even for that. Iraq was supposed to complete a constitutional review, but gets a passing grade for forming the committee. And so on. To read it is to be sick at heart.

Unless, of course, you're Joe Lieberman, who says he read it and found nothing to cast the least doubt on our plan of action. In fact, he's now sure the war can only be lost by "defeatists at home."

Meanwhile, our intelligence says that since we invaded Iraq, al-Qaida has grown stronger, including in its capacity to strike us at home. It only confirms what we all should know: The war is a debacle. Each day we fail to end it endangers the life of every American, especially the soldiers we have sent and sent again to fight it.

The most important bipartisan movement in a generation is taking shape on Capitol Hill. But ironically, Joe Lieberman isn't part of it. Instead, he joins Bush in attacking the "defeatists." Yes, we've come to that phase of a war when disgraced leaders blame the outcome on those brave enough to oppose them. Sadly, Lieberman shows signs of giving in to the temptation.

In doing so, he would forsake civility along with bipartisanship and end up standing only for war. I hope he opts instead to take responsibility for his own folly, as the man I met so long ago surely would have done.