US Forces Withdrawing From Iraq and Democrats Prepare to Take Credit

This morning I checked my emails and newsfeeds like I do every morning. Right away one story jumped out at me. I had thought that the Democrats’ Congress had given up with their faux resolutions against the Iraq War, given up on trying to cut funding for the troops (always a half-hearted effort on their part at best), and generally given up on actually trying to end the war with a politically-driven premature evacuation.

According to [The Hill](http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/sen.-levin-hints-at-emerging-democratic-strategy-on-iraq-2007-10-25.html), “Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) is working with a key appropriator on a strategy to halve the White House’s war-funding request to pressure President Bush into changing course in Iraq.” At first it looked like yet another impotent effort to grandstand for the Democratic Party’s anti-Bush/anti-war base; another attempt to look like they’re doing something. It seemed like another effort to cover up the lie that the Democratic Party EVER had a plan for their vaunted campaign draw issue, “The New Direction in Iraq” plan ([they never did](http://newsbusters.org/node/8944)).

Still, even before my first sips of coffee took hold, something still didn’t seem right (and it wasn’t that I was recovering from a dream about Nancy Pelosi and an S&M assistant in the Oval Office-thanks SNL!). No, the part about cutting funding in half for mid-late 2008 seemed familiar. I knew that there was something else scheduled to happen around that time. The election isn’t until late 2008. Hmmm, what’s supposed to happen in 2008, AND has something to do with withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq?

Then it hit me like a shot o’ Irish Whiskey in the java! U.S. forces are already scheduled to be withdrawing in that time frame. Cutting the funding to force a withdrawal is moot. There’s no point. Just a few weeks ago General Petraeus told Congress (including specifically Senator Carl Levin who is trying to cut funding for the war next year). I searched for his speech, and [there it was](http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2007/09/statement-by-general-petraeus-text.html):
>
> “…I have recommended a drawdown of the surge forces from Iraq [i.e THE WITHDRAWAL OF FORCES FROM IRAQ]. In fact, later this month, the Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed as part of the surge will depart Iraq. Beyond that, if my recommendations are approved, that unit’s departure will be followed by the withdrawal of a brigade combat team without replacement in mid-December and the further redeployment without replacement of four other brigade combat teams and the two surge Marine battalions in the first 7 months of 2008, until we reach the pre-surge level of 15 brigade combat teams by mid-July 2008. I would also like to discuss the period beyond next summer. _Force reductions will continue beyond the pre-surge levels of brigade combat teams that we will reach by mid-July 2008;…”
> -Gen Petraeus’ speech to Congress
> September 10, 2007

There it was. Senator Carl Levin is leading an effort to cut the funding for the war and force a politically-motivated withdrawal from Iraq, but….the withdrawal’s already started. American forces are withdrawing from Iraq. The order to start removing the temporary surge forces started almost three months ago. Orders to withdraw more forces will come in another 5 weeks. After that, more forces will be withdrawn with all of the surge forces out around June, and more withdrawals expected to be announced then. Given the time it takes to get forces in and out of the war (6 months), if substantial US forces are ordered out in June, then a huge portion of the US forces will be out of Iraq before the election in November (5 months later).

So, Senator Carl Levin and other Democratic Party leaders to thank for this? No way. Not at all. The success of American military men and women is what brought about the conditions for success-not Democrats cutting off the food, fuel, water, weapons, and ammo for our troops, but make NO MISTAKE about it, they are posturing to take credit for something they not only didn’t do, something they not only didn’t even help, but rather seeking to take credit for a success that they opposed.

Will anyone notice? Apparently not. Even today Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich supporters have barraged the web declaring that they support candidate X because he’ll end the war in Iraq. The NEWSFLASH that the withdrawals have begun didn’t quite make the news. If it had, then why are people still marching against the war “demanding” withdrawals of US forces that are already occurring and already scheduled?