Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) just returned from a visit to Iraq, a trip that she called a “PR tour” chaperoned by U.S. Embassy officials. In a conference call hosted by Americans Against Escalation In Iraq this afternoon, Schakowsky said plainly, “I believe overall the surge is a failure. Why’s that? Because the purpose was to reduce violence to create a safer environment, to create the space for political reconciliation. And Iraq is as far from that as it’s ever been. ‚Äö√Ѭ∂ It’s clear to me we cannot win someone else’s religious civil war.”…. In addition to the lack of political progress, Schakowsky said that “the security situation in Baghdad is really bad.” As evidence of this, she noted, “You can’t go anywhere without being heavily guarded. To go a few miles from Baghdad to a training camp, we had to get into a Blackhawk helicopter. We had to put on our body armor and our helmets in order to get there.”
It seems as if there are so many Democrats willing to piss and moan about what’s happening in Iraq, yet damn few willing to take concrete steps to stand up to the bully in the White House. I’m not yet certain which camp Jan Schakowsky falls into, but I suppose I should give her kudos for speaking out honestly about what she saw while she was in Iraq. Rather than doing what most Republicans do- going along with the dog-and-pony show and then lauding the “progress” being made- Schakowsky came back and called bullshit on the Adminstration’s propaganda. In an era when politicians- especially Democrats- live in mortal fear of having their patriotism questioned during a re-election campaign, Schakowsky is at least being honest. No matter how much lipstick this Administration puts on this pig, it’s still gonna be a pig. All Jan Schakowsky is doing is pointing out that we still have a pig on our hands.
The biggest and most obvious problem in Iraq is that, as Schakowsky puts it, “we cannot win someone else’s religious civil war.” This is especially true because we as a country understand so little about Islam and the political and cultural mores of the Middle East. We’re hip deep in a war we can’t win, and we can’t find a way to escape that will allow Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © to save face and protect his legacy. And so Americans continue to die horrible, senseless deaths.
Schakowsky’s words do not necessarily foreshadow concrete, positive action on the part of Congressional Democrats, but at least she’s taken a step in the right now direction. Would that more Democrats might discover a functional pair of cojones. Perhaps a few American lives might be saved.
