Iraq Panel

[mburbank]

I think he's using it as an anti-war tactic now, scare or otherwise.

It's legislation to make a point, not a law. He hopes to force discussion about the unequal sacrifices taking place in our country, and the degree to which we value whatever the goals of the war are this week.

That being said, I don't think the current crop has the collective legislative sack to make any significant gestures toward any sort of draw down, which I think is inevitably where we'll go eventually.

I think the democratically elected government is going to implode and if it's happens while we are there the only choice we'll have is to get out or take a speciffic side in a civil war that no longer features even a nod toward a unity government. Wether we're there or not, if the governemnt collapses it's going to be a huge disaster.

I don't think we can shore up the government, we have no money left for reconstruction. Are we doing any good, can we still do any good?

The Iraq study group is a step toward realism, but I think it's too little too late, in that I haven't heard anything in it about what we do if events in Iraq outpace us. There's still no serious thinking ahead. If we are not leaving Iraq right now, then we need to be deciding what we'll do if the Maliki Government collpases.