Senatorial silliness

Whatever it is they're smoking in Arkansas these days, Senator Mark Pryor is smoking more than his share.

"The Arkansas Democrat [was] a key holdout on his party's proposal to approve $122 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while setting a goal of March 31, 2008, for winding up military operations in Iraq," said a front-page story in the WP. "Pryor wants a withdrawal deadline of some kind. He just doesn't want anyone outside the White House, Congress and the Iraqi government to know what it is."

Yes, a literal "secret plan"; a secret withdrawal date, secretly held by about 600 individuals, at an absolute minimum, all of whom make a living with their mouths.

To make it through life in this uncertain world, we all cling to certain fictions meant to provide some level of emotional security. One of those communal fictions is that to rise to the U.S. Senate one must have at least a modicum of mature judgment, no matter what ideological plane he or she operates from.

Then comes a senatorial idea like Mark Pryor's to shatter it all.

"My strong preference would be to have a classified plan and a classified timetable that should be shared with Congress," said the senator Monday, with moronity aforethought. To announce a deadline would clue in the hostiles, "who might just bide their time and wait for us to leave. Then you'd have chaos and mayhem and instability."

The collective boneheadedness of those mere three sentences is awe inducing. It was no trifling, off-the-cuff concept, after which one quickly apologizes on grounds of hastiness. No, it was "thought" out, presented to the media and proffered for his colleagues' consideration in amendment form.

It seems almost silly to even bother countering such silliness, but on the other hand, silliness seems to have a way of assuming the armor of seriousness these days, so perhaps it is best to do so.

The thought that all 535 members of Congress would hold secret some fixed date of withdrawal is positively otherworldly. Yet the belief that Iraqi government officials -- most of whom are self-interestedly aligned with a warring sect -- would do likewise resides exclusively in some parallel universe. And if nothing else, wouldn't someone notice when the Humvees, one by one, every few days, started rolling back to Kuwait?

As for the combatants "biding their time" if given an announced withdrawal date, by and large that happens to be what they're doing now, which makes any withdrawal date -- scheduled or not, public or not -- meaningless. Which is to say, sooner or later we'll leave; and the combatants know that. Any secrecy behind the "when" makes not a whit of difference as to its inevitability, making a sectarian intermission, as things are, a reasonable strategic choice.

Finally, of course, the sheer blindness underlying a prediction of "chaos and mayhem and instability" unless we hang around for a while is nothing less than breathtaking -- prima facie evidence of the senator's sure and steady consumption of a reality-altering substance.

What's even more breathtaking, however, is that anyone would have to point these things out to a United States senator.

Mark, I understand Britney is out of rehab. So there's a bed open.

Comments

[Steve Hurd]

Wow, being from Arkansas I am embarrassed and astounded at the idiocy of the man. Not everyone here smokes what he'e smoking. Apparently, he and Senator McCain are sharing a bag of "something".

[jeffuppy]

Pryor is not alone.

This is most certainly a circulating idea. See VOA yesterday regarding Congressman Jim Clyburn:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-03-27-voa76.cfm

"...Clyburn says he could personally support some sort of confidential timeline, which would be known only to the Bush administration, the Iraqi government, and selected members of Congress, which is among options raised in discussions on Capitol Hill."

My first thought was of Nixon's infamous "secret plan" to end the war in Vietnam.

The absurdity is mind-boggling.

[Vic Anderson]

Sock IT to Pryor (AND Clyburn)?

[d-hog]

You have to give Pryor some credit. Its not often a freshman Senator stands alone against his party on an issue. He seems to have some principles. But yes, his "scret plan" is laughable. The best quote from him on this is that "the plan would remain secret, because Congress is entrusted with secrets 'all the time'" If that doesn't make you laugh out loud I don't know what will.

[Helen Rainier]

I'd sure like some of whatever Pryor is smoking. A classified plan and a classified timetable known only to God and the US Congress? How do they really expect to keep it classified when all the senate and house knows about it. Doesn't really make it "classified."

For god's sake, they couldn't even keep the identity of a NOC CIA agent secret. What makes him think this would be kept confidential?

Pure silliness and delusion.

[Beyond Cynical]

As absurd as it is, it makes more sense than announcing we will withdraw a month before US Presidential elections. What does one say? Sorry, your son had to die so we could use this bloody spectacle to dupe the US electorate into thinking the Democrats care about this country.

[olvlzl, guilty habit]

Even worse, Pryor got a lot of serious attention from the media for his insane idea. No idea vaguely in aid of the defense of the Bush junta is too obviously wacky for the American media to speak truth about.

Beyond Cynical, you will note, if you can stop being so stylishly cynical, that the majority of the Democrats voted against Pryor's idea.

[Helen Rainier]

The bottom line for me is that Bush will damned well do what he wants to do no matter what Congress says. At the very least, Bush has a moral obligation to clean this f**king mess up before he leaves office.

He has no right to pass this off onto the next administration, no matter if it's Democratic or Republican.

With the way these wayward criminals are conducting business, I suspect the Democratic Party will be holding the reins of power for quite some time.