GOP Congressmen Express Concern to Petraeus, Crocker

During Wednesday’s testimony before the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, something important happened. Several members of the Republican Party expressed concern that the war in Iraq-Nam apparently has no end in sight. That doesn’t mean they are breaking with Mr. Bush, but it does mean they are worried about the damage the war is doing to their party. Elections can focus a politician’s mind like nothing else.

Congressman John McHugh represents the 23rd Congressional District of New York up on the Canadian border, and he’s held that seat since 1993. He’s a pretty standard issue New York Republican: fiscal conservatism, protecting farmers (yes, there are farms in New York), and strong national defense. Yet, there he was telling General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, “I think all of us, certainly I, feel very strongly that the Iraqi government needs to do more.”

Others on the Armed Services committee took issue on other points. Terry Everett of Alaska stated bluntly, “None of us like the cost of this.” Randy Forbes of Virginia echoed that asking if “Iraq is worth $608 billion to us. How do we answer the housewife, factory worker?” When the GOP starts worrying about explaining things to housewives and factory workers, they are running scared. Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland was even harsher, “Is our presence in Iraq equivalent to a temporary plug in a hole in the dike?”

Over at the Foreign Affairs Committee, the mood was no better. Former presidential candidate Tom Tancredo of Colorado mentioned Mr. Bush’s promise that the Green Zone Government would take control of security in all 18 provinces, and then noted, “Of course, that has not happened. I’m just wondering whether, General Petraeus, you have any idea of why he made that statement?”

Jeff Flake of Arizona (who just won the highest score in Congress from the anti-tax National Taxpayers Union) said, “I still have a hard time seeing the big picture and what constitutes success. That’s not just one side of the aisle with those kinds of concerns. Many on this side of the aisle have that as well.” He added with a degree of menace, “We do have the power of the purse, and we desperately want to see success, but a lot of us are concerned.”

Dana Rohrabacher of California said, “The people of the United States have paid an awful price. It’s time for the Iraqis to pay that price for their own protection.” And if the Iraq-Namese don’t, “there’s going to be trouble on the Republican side, as well as the Democratic side, of getting support for an ongoing conflict.”

This is at odds with the much more comfortable ride the general and the ambassador got from the Republicans sitting on senate committees the day before. Of course, very few of them are up for re-election this year. Every member of the House is, and therein lies all the difference.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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