WHAT ARE LUGAR AND WARNER TALKING ABOUT? ARE THEY TRYING TO GET US OUT OF IRAQ OR JUST SENDING A LIFE PRESERVER TO THE HAPLESS, CLUELESS BUSH?

The news media was buzzing yesterday-- and, for a Saturday, today-- over this "whole change of strategy" meme being pushed by senior Republican senators, Richard Lugar and John Warner, both mainstream conservatives. I'm not as certain as the Associated Press is that this is a blow against the Empire.

Two top Republicans cast aside President Bush's pleas for patience on Iraq Friday and proposed legislation demanding a new strategy by mid-October to restrict the mission of U.S. troops.

The proposal, by veteran GOP Sens. John Warner of Virginia and Richard Lugar of Indiana, came as the Pentagon conceded a decreasing number of Iraqi battalions are able to operate on their own.

"American military and diplomatic strategy in Iraq must adjust to the reality that sectarian factionalism is not likely to abate anytime soon and probably cannot be controlled from the top," the Warner-Lugar proposal states.

Democrats and the White House were dismissive of the proposal. However, it could attract significant support from GOP colleagues who are frustrated by Iraq but reluctant to break ranks with their party or force the hand of a wartime president.

Bush is the biggest national security failure in the history of America. 9/11 happened not just under his watch but because of his gross and indefensible incompetence. His pathetic (and profits-driven) responses have made the United States far less secure on every front and in every conceivable way. Two days ago his incredibly annoying, proto-fascistic, costly and mostly useless homeland security policies were shown to be a complete farce.

Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb.

The investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, demonstrated once again that the security measures put in place since the 2001 terrorist attacks to prevent radioactive materials from getting into the wrong hands are insufficient, according to a G.A.O. report, which is scheduled to be released at a Senate hearing Thursday.

Nevertheless Lugar and Warner think a non-binding resolution is just what the doctor ordered. Maybe 3 or 4 years ago. Impeachment, trial and sentencing are what's called for now. Instead their weak and toothless sop to angry voters is a "requirement" that Bush submit a plan by Oct 16 that would be ready in a year to "transition U.S. combat forces from policing the civil strife or sectarian violence in Iraq" to a narrow set of missions: protecting Iraqi borders, targeting terrorists, protecting U.S. assets and training Iraqi forces. Too little, too late-- way too late-- and it entirely depends on good faith from Bush and Cheney and the tooth fairy.

Still this morning's Washington Post calls it an acceleration of a "Republican revolt against President Bush's war strategy." Acceleration? Neither of these peaceniks voted to end the occupation when they had a chance a few days ago. They may have some credibility with a few conservative-- as opposed to fascist-- Republicans and with the reactionary Democrats like the Nelsons and Landrieu, but each is fast becoming, along with George Voinovich, a joke.

Despite the irrefutable sour public opinion on the war, there remains deep discord in Congress over the politics-- and substance-- of proposals presented during a protracted six-month Iraq debate in Congress. Lawmakers say the fact that Iraq has become a central issue in a spirited presidential campaign has also emerged as an obstacle to the kind of bipartisan accord that Mr. Warner and Mr. Lugar say they are seeking.

While Mr. Bush almost certainly commands less loyalty than at any other time of his presidency, the White House has kept enough Republicans from siding with Democrats to keep legislation from reaching the 60-vote threshold needed to pass legislation in the Senate-- not to mention the 67 votes needed to override a veto. At the same time, Democrats have often produced legislation that is viewed as hard for some Republicans to endorse.

I think the American people are understanding that the only way to end this war is to elect a Democratic president with a Senate and House that cannot be obstructed by partisan Republican tricks. Can it be done? Even assuming Lieberman officially joins the GOP or that the Democrats ever find the spine to toss him out, the Democrats would need to hold onto every seat (including Landrieu's, their most vulnerable one) and then take 11 more. Which 11 Republican senate seats are possible? Colorado, New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Kentucky and New Mexico look like good shots. Oregon, Virginia, Alaska look possible. Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Mississippi could happen, although it might take some Divine Intervention. But aren't we due some of that after bearing all this Bush crap for so long-- and under the guise of Who exactly?


UPDATE: ALMOST FORGOT... LUGAR AND WARNER HAVE RECORDS

The two born-again peaceniks have long voting records on Iraq and, as a matter of fact, a great deal of responsibility for the catastrophic situation the Bush Regime has created there. Including the 5 roll calls on October 10, 2002-- the Resolution Authorizing the Use of Force-- the Senate has voted on Iraq 32 times (including last week's this past Wednesday's vote on the Webb Amendment to give troops a respite from battle before being sent back to the front). Both Lugar and Warner were enthusiastic supporters of all 5 of the Oct 10 roll calls of course and they both voted against Webb's amendment to support the troops. There is no way to describe Dick Lugar's voting record or John Warner's voting record as anything but gross derelictions of the trust and duty their constituents placed in them. The media may call them "respected" or "wise" or whatever bullshit they want to invent to describe these two partisan hacks but no one can look at their records and claim they are not rubber stamp Republicans unfit to hold public office.