Centerfield

Advocating Withdrawal

I've mentioned the ads run by MoveOn.org a few times in conversations about the war over the past few months. I'm occasionally told that my reading of their position is wrong. That, for example, they weren't against the $87 billion in reconstruction spending -- they were just against the war initially, and wanted to point out better things that could be done with that money.

It's all a little clearer now that MoveOn is one of 42 liberal groups backing an initiative called Win Without War, which calls for the Bush administration to set a specific date for withdrawal from Iraq.

Their argument goes like this:

There is no military solution in Iraq. We therefore call upon our government to end the military and economic occupation of Iraq and to withdraw our troops by a date certain. There is no justification for letting any young American be the last to die for a mistake.

We reject the argument that America cannot withdraw from a costly, bloody occupation that was mistaken from the beginning. Such a course will only doom more Americans and Iraqis to die for a dubious cause at costs we cannot afford. To those who claim that American credibility is at stake, we say that the best way to restore America’s credibility, respect and honor in the world is through the success of a vigorous citizen’s movement in ending the occupation and holding those responsible fully accountable. The Win Without War coalition is fully committed to this end.

This is, I suppose, the organized representation of a certain segment on the left that thinks we should withdraw. I applaud them for taking a position -- although I hesitate to call it a clear position. The title they add at the top of all their statements says "Set a Date for the Withdrawal of our Soldiers" -- and that's how they're representing it to the media, apparently.

That's a pretty broad request. The president could set a date a month, a year, or two years from now. Their actual statement, though, makes it pretty clear they're talking about a quick withdrawal, not just setting a formal end-date.