Prisoner exchange

In an otherwise clear headed indictment of a Democratic party that still seems to wish that the Iraq War would simply go away, Matt calls the DNC's decision to bash the GOP over approving of amnesty for insurgents who've killed American troops "an unprincipled gambit." Jim Henley, whom Matt links to, calls it "irresponsible, jingoist tripe."

Whoa, Nellie. I'm not sure what political universe Matt and Jim are living in, but as one commentator on Henley's site notes, when you're fighting a pig and the pig gets to choose the field of battle, you can expect some mud to be flung. The GOP has been bashing Democrats over the head with "irresponsible, jingoist tripe" since, oh, September 12, 2001. Democrats have been bashed at the polls in 2002 and 2004 as a result. Turnabout is fair play, no?

Calling Republicans on their craven hypocricy is good. It...

1. Is fun.
2. Is satisfying.
3. Exposes the dishonesty of the Right when it comes to the Iraq War.

Jim's and Matt's argument is that Democrats need to be the party to "think real" about the war and how to end it. And that may very well mean an agreement to release insurgents. It makes sense. After all, at the end of any conflict, it is generally accepted standard practice to conduct an exchange of prisoners, including killers. It's a war. Soldiers kill. Soldiers die.

Trouble is, the Cheney administration has spent the past three years arguing something very different, arguments echoed across the land by The Mighty Wurlitzer and its Republican talking points. The insurgents, they argued, should not be called prisoners since that implies that the U.S. is an occupying force and Iraqis who fight back could then be called "freedom fighters." No, these "dead-enders" are terrorists and "foreign fighters." They're "jihadists" who must be considered "enemy combatants," not prisoners of war, according to the Right. And you are an America hater if you try to argue that these prisoners should be afforded protections under the Geneva Convention. Doesn't apply, sayeth the Cheney administration.

Shit, these guys are so dangerous, even their very suicides inside of our prisons are threats to our security in the United States, according to our nation's leadership.

So, in the interest of promoting Maliki's government and, more importantly, in the interest of giving the impression of "turning another corner," Republicans suddenly approve of the idea of releasing Iraqis who've killed American troops...for Iraqi national reconciliation, of course. I think that's worth shining a light on.

Matt, Jim, every time a Democrats criticizes Dear Leader's conduct of the war, Republicans shriek, throw feces, and yell, "He's demoralizing the troops!" I think it's time for a little payback.

Besides, prisoner exchanges usually come at the end of the war, not in the middle of what preznit says is going to be a long commitment.

I'd be curious what the reaction to all this is at Little Green Fascists, but I can't take the virtual smell of that place.