I awoke this morning to NPR and Hillary Clinton talking about her just-concluded trip to Iraq, and she is saying things I want to hear.
- She opposes the presidents proposed escalation and she wants to cap the number of troops deployed to Iraq.
- She wants to set conditions for the Iraqi government and put political benchmarks in place that must be met.
- She proposes that American troops be repositioned out of Baghdad and that American forces begin to pull back out of Iraq.
- She stated explicitly that we need to concentrate on Afghanistan and bolster troop numbers there in preparation for the upcoming Taliban spring offensive.(emphasis mine)
It will surprise no one that I agree with the Senator, since the only thing she is proposing that I haven't is the part about capping troop numbers - and I smacked my forehead for overlooking it as soon as she said it.
Don't get me wrong - this does not redeem her in my eyes. She still helped us get into this disaster, and I not only won't support her in the primaries, I will work vehemently against her; for that reason alone. I won't be forgetting that she was wrong and we were right, and I will be reminding everyone of that at every turn between now and when the election cycle gets going in earnest.
But on the other hand...Hawks deserting the cause is a necessary step in the process. I welcome them aboard, but they better be chastened because God Damnit, when you are this wrong, and the consequences are this big, you don't get a Mulligan.
(cross-posted from Blue Girl, Red State)
