From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Cynthia Tucker

Given deep-seated discontent with the war in Iraq, the new Democratic majority in Congress believes it has a political mandate for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid succeeded in passing bills that borrow heavily from the Iraq Study Group, which proposed a significant force reduction over the next two years.

Most of the Democratic presidential candidates are also heeding the polls. The current favorites — former Sen. John Edwards and Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama — all support proposals to withdraw most troops from combat by the end of 2008. The specifics of their plans differ; Edwards would hurry toward the exit, while Clinton’s plan has speed bumps. In interviews, Clinton has acknowledged the need to keep enough troops in Iraq to prevent further Iranian incursions. But on the campaign trial, her mantra is simpler: Bring them home.

None of the Democrats wants to confront voters with the messy reality of the Middle East: Now that President Bush and his neoconservative chickenhawks have dragged us into Iraq, leaving won’t be simple or pretty. There is no way to undo the damage we’ve done.

The Democrats are right to insist on a significant reduction of U.S. forces; the so-called surge calls for 160,000 troops remaining in Iraq for an unspecified length of time. That’s cynical and callous — asking Americans to sacrifice their sons and daughters for no good reason.

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