While Democrats celebrate their victories in winning both houses of Congress and can claim that the American people have handed them a mandate for change, the next question for the Democrats is how to wield their newfound power.
Now that they share power with the Republicans on the national stage, future Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi must tread softly on the issue of attempting to change the policy in Iraq. Michael O’Hanlon from the Brookings Institution indicated in his recent article: “Democrats will share responsibility for the war's outcome, admittedly as junior partners to the effort but partners all the same.” Sharing responsibility carries political accountability with it. Indeed, the Democrats now have the power of the purse and can affect the troop levels in Iraq based on how much they appropriate for next year’s defense budget; but would a quick withdrawal of troops, which many Democrats call for, including future chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin, be a prudent choice?
It is clear that the American people want a change in direction in Iraq but do most Americans believe that a complete and quick pull-out of troops provides the best option? This author believes otherwise. Well-informed Americans recognize that if the U.S. were to hastily pull out its troops from Iraq, the U.S. would be leaving a power vacuum that al Qaeda will exploit. Without a stable Iraqi government, sectarian violence will likely explode into a full-blown civil war.
To allow Iraq to plunge into chaos would be a political blow to the Democrats, making last week’s midterm election victories a moot point, especially if the Republicans retain control of the White House in 2008, and that is what Democrats would like least to happen. It’s apparent that the early meetings between Nancy Pelosi and President Bush illustrate that both recognize the reality and political risks involve in Iraq and the answer lies in working closely together in creating a new policy that is congruent with national and not partisan interests.
So how should U.S. foreign policy in Iraq proceed? Last week’s Democratic victory signaled an end and a rebuke to the Bush Administration’s foreign policy in Iraq and should be a clear signal to Prime Minister Al-Maliki and the Iraqi government that U.S. military support is no longer guaranteed in the long-run. This reality should exert force on the Shia-majority Iraqi government to hammer compromise with the Sunni minority. It should also force the government to quickly train more Iraqi security personnel. The answer to an effective exit strategy is to force the Iraqi government to independently govern and protect itself. When the Iraqi government can stand independently, American troops can finally be sent home. Whether the Bush Administration exerts this pressure on the Iraqi government through an ultimatum, one thing is sure, the Democrats will attempt to exercise their power in removing troops in the region if the status quo does not change in Iraq in the next year.
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