Senator Biden Wants to Rescind Iraq Authorization

If you buy a house from someone and they neglect to tell you that the house is sitting on an old toxic dump that is still leaking into the soil, should the contract be declared null and void? One could argue that the authorization Congress gave Bush to deal with Iraq was the equivalent of a contract: Bush made his case, Congress provided the money and authorization, Bush signed the deal like the marketing executive that he is. It could be argued that the original deal was based on fraudelent claims knowingly made by the president and his advisers. I don't know if that's the case that Joe Biden is making but it's something to think about. Here's the story by AP writer Barry Schweid in the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday he would move to repeal the authority Congress gave President Bush in 2002 to send U.S. troops into Iraq and replace it with a narrower mandate.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the legislation was based on the idea that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was designed to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

(snip)

Congress should make clear the mission is to draw down U.S. forces in Iraq while continuing to combat terrorists, train Iraqis and respond to emergencies, he said.

I like the idea of somebody somewhere declaring loud and clear what it is we're trying to accomplish in Iraq at this late date. Most Republicans in Congress utterly refuse to deal with the issue. On the most important issue of the day, Senator McCain couldn't even be bothered to be in Washington.

Why are we in Iraq? What are we gaining from Bush's misadventure? Is Iraq now nothing more than an opportunity for Republicans to engage in fear mongering and posturing while they refuse the responsibility of dealing with Iraq and Bush's failures? Republicans may not want to deal with these issues but at least Democrats like Senator Joe Biden is attempting to do so. I'm looking forward to the first foreign policy debate among the 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls.