Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean made headlines with his interview on a Texas radio station. The media dutifully reported his comment that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is...just plain wrong" and his comparision of Iraq to Vietnam.
Once again, however, if you peel away the antiwar rhetoric, you are left with a position that is anything but antiwar. Dean specifically noted that he was not proposing a withdrawal but a "strategic redeployment over a period of two years." He explores the possibilities of pulling National Guard and Reserves, redeploying to "a friendly neighboring country", and committing an additional 20,000 troops to Afghanistan "where we are welcome."
You could argue that Dean's position is an improvement on the Bush strategy but it is not antiwar. From Dean's strategic redeployment, the future of the war could move in any direction, including escalation, increased air strikes, and expansion into Syria and Iran.
Howard Dean has become the poster boy for Democratic duplicity on the war. They offer us appealing words but the bullets and bombs will continue. They promise us peace -- not today, not tomorrow, but somewhere on a distant horizon.
See "Snookered: The Democratic War Trap" on Peace-Earth-Justice [pej.org] 12/4/05.
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