Damn Dems

Pelosi’s pick to chair the House Intelligence Committee is calling for more troops to be sent to Iraq:

In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he wants to see an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops as part of a stepped up effort to “dismantle the militias.”

The soft-spoken Texas Democrat was an early opponent of the Iraq war and voted against the October 2002 resolution authorizing President Bush to invade that country. That dovish record got prominently cited last week when Speaker designate Nancy Pelosi chose Reyes as the new head of the intelligence panel.

…Reyes added that he was “very clear” about his position to Pelosi when she chose him over two rivals—Rep. Jane Harman of California and Rep. Alcee Hastings—to head the critical intelligence post.

So let me see if I’ve got this right. Harman was passed over because she had been wrong about the war in the first place in favor of someone who was right in the first place, but now wants to send in more troops? You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m not the only one who seems flummoxed for precisely the same reason…

Drum: “Which is better: someone who got it right in the beginning but has since lost his way, or someone who originally made a mistake but seems to have learned something since then? I think I'd pick door #2.”

Steve Benen: “So, at this point, the only people in Washington who are anxious to send thousands of additional troops into Iraq are John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and the incoming Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee? This isn’t good. …I think the phrase I’m looking for here is ‘buyer’s remorse’.”

Meanwhile, the Iraq Study Group’s report has been released, and panel co-chair James Baker introduced it at a press conference by saying, “We no longer can afford to stay the course.” Great idea to let the incoming Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chair cede ground to the Bush family fixer and his panel of plonkers. The whole point of the Iraq Study Group was to take the policies the Democrats have been suggesting—and the American people have been wanting—and make it look like they were coming from Bush’s side. Reyes has now made the despicable whitewash ever so much easier.