Fighting the Increase
I suppose President Bush is used to it by now: suggesting a new plan for war, administration, or policy and receiving quite a hostile response from his opposition. The topic of discussion is no longer consequential, either, as many choose to judge policy actions on past actions. Yet, contrary to popular belief, discussing the topic at hand is still important even if the war was a mistake. This week’s proposal by President Bush to increase troop levels in Iraq was met with “hostile opposition.” The Democrats, lead by Nanci Pelosi, vow to fight the troop increase with every resource available.
Yet, what exactly do the Democrats plan on doing to restrict troop increases? As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, troops levels are at the sole discretion of the president. Short of refusing to pay serviceman salaries, denying arms and vehicle purchases, or decomissioning all US aircraft carriers, Speaker Pelosi has little power to influence President Bush’s decision. This is also not Vietnam, regardless of how many times the parallel is made in the media. The US people still have more patience for this unsavory war than 20,000 unpaid servicemen deployed in a foreign land lacking in basic equipment. President Bush isn’t so much requesting a troop increase as informing the country of his intentions.