"Mr. President, this is your war." --Sen. Joseph Biden
Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, and incoming chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee has stated unequivocally that he opposes any escallation or troop buildups that would insert 20-30,000 additional troops into Baghdad.
This places him firmly at odds with fellow 2008 presidential hopeful, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, who was one of the first to call for an escallation of troop numbers to try to quell the sectarian violence in Baghdad. The country would appear to be on Senator Biden's side, given that only 11% of Americans favor such a buildup.
"Absent some profound political announcement . . . I can't imagine there being an overwhelming, even significant support for the president's position," he told reporters during a telephone conference call Tuesday.Senator Biden has already informed Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice that she appear before his committee to answer questions about the President's "new and improved" Iraq war plan as soon as it is announced next month. The Secretary has agreed.
If the violence continues two years from now, "every one of those Republican senators — and there's 21 of them up for re- election — knows that that is likely to spell his or her doom," Biden said.
I am glad to see Biden taking this stand, vowing to take on this fight, but then I am always glad to see Democrats show signs of spinal fortification.
What we had on November 7 was not just an election - it was an intervention. And like so many addicts, the president charmed his way out the door with words of contrition, and ten minutes later he was back on the streets, trying to score more and more powerful drugs.
