I asked for a show of hands: "How many of you want to bring the troops home now?" Every hand went skyward but her question hung over the audience.

Where is the voice of the Democrats in Washington?

Are liberals like Hillary Clinton playing coy because they are running for president in 2008 and fear a Swift Boat attack like the one on John Kerry if they "abandon" the troops in a time of war?

Are they afraid not to be as "macho" as W?

Will no one step up on behalf of the memory of Paul Wellstone, or indeed, Fighting Bob, and demand that we withdraw and do so now?

The Progressive magazine put it succinctly: "The invasion was illegal and foolish in the first place. And the occupation has failed."

Can there be any serious argument among serious people with that conclusion? I don't think so.

Ill-advised, reckless, illegal, foolhardy, you pick the adjective. The salient point that seems to be forgotten by those reporting on this travesty is that we are an occupying force and no one likes an occupier, particularly when the occupation has been bungled at great cost in lives, American and Iraqi. (Not to mention nearly $165 billion in tax dollars.)

Last week Milwaukee County found it would be $3 million in the red. The immediate reaction from governor-wannabe Scott Walker? Cut social services. (Why not pick on these, the least of our brothers and sisters, when he knows they won't vote for him?)

Guess how much this Iraq invasion has cost the city of Milwaukee in tax dollars - $282 million. It has cost Madison $128 million. Our two major cities have lost nearly half a billion dollars that will never be recovered while we fret over a $3 million shortfall. If Walker was thinking, he would join in demanding we end the invasion.

With nearly 1,600 soldiers killed and 20,000 permanently injured; with tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths and many more injuries, when will we come to our senses?

We cannot "win" this war. The power grid is still broken, there is no functioning government, the Iraqi army is more of a wish than a thought. The insurgency is leading to civil war while we focus on Michael Jackson and the new pope.

Admittedly this is tough stuff. Apparently it is impossible for our president to admit a mistake but the facts are in. The invasion was based on cooked books. There were no WMDs, and there was no threat from Saddam to this country's security, and Iraq was not involved in 9/11. It was a massive mistake made by sissy hawks who wanted a war.

Since the administration is not willing to develop a plan, it is time for leadership in the U.S. Senate to demand a policy. It is time for Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold to step up to the plate. This is their Vietnam. They can be the Gene McCarthy, Bobby Kennedy or George McGovern of this travesty or hide in the Senate cloak room. They can vote for more appropriations without a quid pro quo from the administration to "support the troops" by bringing them home or they can take the lead in fighting to stop this occupation.

We have a filibuster for more reasons than stopping terrible judicial appointments. Why not use it?

The media have opted to relegate this story to Page 4 or 5 unless something dramatic happens such as the surface-to-air missile that brought down a helicopter. But nine Iraqis killed here or there, one American killed here or there, is no longer big news.

The big news ignored by the media is that this administration does not have an exit strategy now nor has it ever. We need one and we must bring our troops home. There will be no peace until we leave. Leaving does not guarantee peace but, to recall the song of another misadventure, our leaving "will give peace a chance." Remaining for five more years is not a policy, it is a shoulder shrug.

The American people are sick of this invasion and occupation. They want the National Guard troops home and they want to stop the killing. Is there a Bobby Kennedy in the Senate today or are we faced with "Profiles in Cowardice"?

Ed Garvey is a Madison lawyer, political activist and the editor of the fightingbob.com Web site.

© 2005 Capital Times

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