Sen. Hagel on Iraq: It's Over, Time To Get Going

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has written an op-ed calling for a phased withdrawal from Iraq. It is being mostly ignored, with many still choosing to ignore reality. Will Hagel be listened to where Democrats like Sen. Levin were dismissed? Don't hold your breath.

Washington Post Op-Ed (Sen. Chuck Hagel): Leaving Iraq, Honorably

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....

...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...

...That is what is at stake over the next few months.

(full op-ed in link above)

Here are the most significant parts to me of his editorial-

Sen. Hagel said at the beginning that "There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq" and also that "The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis -- not the Americans."

That has been true for some time now... but most are only now saying so.

The Senator also said: "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."

That, in particular, has been true since the beginning of the war.

As was this: "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."

And this.... "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."

This has all been true for years... and it is what Republicans have been trying to paint as false or unpatriotic for just as long. The election has allowed and/or forced many Americans who have denied reality for the sake of party loyalty to finally acknowledge it. But that does not mean that these truths about the war became true on November 8th of this year. They have been true for a very long time. The political environment just changed enough for good men like Sen. Hagel to speak these truths out loud at last without fear of reprisal from within their own ranks.

I am also glad he brought up the bigger picture of the Mideast crisis when he said this: "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."

He's right. And every second we have wasted occupying Iraq is a second we should've been spending on that issue-- the root cause of most of the instability in the region. We used to understand that. But the President distracted us from those larger issues with fearmongering about mushroom clouds and Saddam the 9/11 co-conspirator so that the neocons could advance their personal agenda of military dominance.

In conclusion, Hagel is absolutely right when he says "The United States must begin planning for a phased troop withdrawal from Iraq." And we must begin that ASAP; no more stalling.

It could've been started over a year ago, when the polls really turned against this madness, but the President was stubborn. Still is. As are many Republicans, best exemplified by John McCain (who seems to want to be the LBJ of this war without ever even being president). Hopefully the media will stop taking people like them seriously and start seeing the real leaders in that party are people like Hagel. And maybe they will then also realize that Democrats have had phased withdrawal plans waiting for some time now-- and that, instead of waiting for whatever bullshit compromise plan the Baker junta will throw at us, we should begin implementing those plans as soon as possible. Because Iraq is about to explode (on a greater level than before) and we don't want to be there when that happens.

[PS- That ol' "liberal" media? Still not citizens of RealityLand.]