Money, Meet Mouth

David Wissing scoffs at Rep. Charlie Rangel's proposal to brink back the draft, and in the process completely misses the point of the proposal. I think the Poor Man's reaction gives the appropriate response:

Oy. Charlie Rangel is not really advocating a draft. Also, Swift was not seriously advocating that the Irish eat their own children. Rangel is advocating a public debate about the costs of the war, with testimony from Administration officials, and he is advocating that war supporters in Congress make a choice between ending the war and commiting political suicide.

He then notes that Rangel voted against his own draft bill when he last proposed it in 2004, after the Republicans brought it immediately to the House floor, with no hearings whatsoever. Rather than seriously consider the possible necessity of the draft to shore up a breaking Army and Marine Corps, let alone debate the wisdom of continuing the war, they tried to score a political point. Indeed, Wissing's reaction, like many other conservatives, is one of scorn -- as if this war that they supported so much is unworthy of collective sacrifice.

To put it another way: We're constantly told by war supporters, from John McCain to Bill Kristol to just about any conservative blogger you could name, that a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq would spell disaster. Even when, as the New Republic acknowledges, the current American occupation is unsustainable and Iraq is in the midst of unending violence. So what, exactly, should the U.S. do next? Of the three options that the Pentagon has put forth, one requires more troops, and another requires the armed forces to maintain the same tempo they're at now. How exactly are we to do either, given plummeting support for the war in all sectors of the population? If conservatives like Wissing aren't willing to call for a draft to bolster troop levels, what do they recommend? How serious are they about their support for the war?

Right now, I see only two options: start a draft to continue the war, or withdraw our troops from Iraq and rethink our policies in the region. Since the former is clearly unacceptable, even to the war's cheerleaders, what keeps us from going forward with withdrawal as soon as possible, other than the pride and vanity of our President, and his enablers in the establishment media and the conservative movement? This is why Congress' dereliction of its oversight duties has been so infuriating, and why I hope the new Democratic Congress will put as much pressure on President Bush as possible to start bringing troops home. This war has been an utter catastrophe, and there's nothing continuing the occupation can do to make it less of one.