From Juan Cole:
War turns Republics into dictatorships. The logic is actually quite simple. The Constitution says that the Congress is responsible for declaring war. But in 2002 Congress turned that responsibility over to Bush, gutting the constitution and allowing the American Right to start referring to him not as president but as 'commander in chief' (that is a function of the civilian presidency, not a title.)
Now Bush has now turned over the decision-making about the course of the Iraq War to Gen. David Petraeus.
So Congress abdicated to Bush. Bush has abdicated to the generals in the field.
That is not a Republic. That is a military dictatorship achieved not by coup but by moral laziness.
....
Bush campaigned on being a 'uniter not a divider' in 2000. In fact, he is the ultimate Divider, and leaves burning buildings, millions of refugees, and hundreds of thousands of cadavers in his wake. He is not Iraq's Brownie. He is Iraq's Katrina itself.
Just as New Orleans's Ninth War[d] will still be a moonscape when Bush goes out of office, so will Iraq.
This is just so totally depressing to me that I am nearly paralyzed. I don't know what to write about here, because the present situation with the Iraq War has dragged me down so today. Somehow it seems all that matters.
From the AP via the Orlando Sentinal:
WASHINGTON - The new timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq? There isn't one.
The American public is tired of the war. Democrats are calling for a U.S. troop exodus from Iraq. But President Bush said Thursday that he told his top commander in Iraq that he can take "all the time he needs" to decide whether more troops can come home after the latest round of cutbacks is completed in July.
....
"The president still doesn't understand that America's limited resources cannot support his limitless war," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Let me be clear: This is not a so-called troop pause. With today's announcement, the president has signaled to the American people that he has no intention of bringing home any more troops.
"Instead he is leaving all the tough decisions to the next administration."
And what about you folks in the Congress, Harry? Why don't you make some tough decisions? DO YOUR JOB!
It will take some doing to restore the republic.
ReplyDeleteIs this how Augustus established the Principate? (He at least had some accomplishments.)
I do wish that Sen Reid and other Democrats would give it more than lip service. They were put back into power to do something about this war, yet they act like a branch of the Republican Party. They have surrendered their congressional powers to the executive.
ReplyDeleteOh Mimi... wow.
ReplyDeleteIt is depressing, and I am not sure if it was ennui or my own denial that did not allow myself to think too much about the implication of this until now.
I mean the full implication. Like, what Congress?
And Harry needs to have a nice cup of STFU since he has let this admin off the hook along with Nancy Pelosi, all along.
"...not by coup but by moral laziness."
ReplyDeleteThat's right.
Thank you, Mimi, for posting this and for allowing yourself to absorb its significance and distill it for us. It is almost as though we have to take turns realizing and feeling the full weight of our situation, so that some of us can keep up functioning more or less normally. I am holding you up in prayer, with love, so that you may not be altogether paralyzed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary Clara. I need the love and prayers today.
ReplyDelete((((((( Mimi )))))))
ReplyDeleteEven if they are vetoed and don't have the votes to override the vetoes, the Democrats should have forced the Republicans to go on record about this war. That is why they were elected and none of them seemed to get it. I do want them to regain the power from the usurpers. What has happened to all of our rights scares the living liver out of me and so many of the people around me seem supremely unconcerned--ostrich-like with their heads in the sand.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, Grandmère.
Paul, thank you, love.
ReplyDeleteBoocat, you are most welcome.
Cole makes the point about the commander-in-chief being a FUNCTION of the presidency. I have never in my life voted for a commander-in-chief. It bothers me when Clinton and Obama talk about the commander-in-chief business. I vote for a president.
I've never been a conspiracy-theorist but for the last four years I've semi-believed that both the media and our Democratic "leaders" have been strong-armed somehow. It's as if Karl Rove has threatened to break their kneecaps or kidnap their children.
ReplyDeleteRemember the anthrax letters? They only went to media outlets and prominent Democrats. And the "terrorist" who sent them has never been caught. And of course, no one talks about it any more.
Sorry if any of this sound nuts. The other possibility is that people like Reid and Pelosi are plain worn out, too.
Sorry if any of this sound nuts.
ReplyDeletePJ, could it possibly sound nuttier than what we're actually living through?
And what about the anthrax? People died. That matter is assigned to the land of Oblivion.
Maybe Pelosi and Reid are worn out, but we must goad them on. For now, they're all we have.