Tony Blair’s Reason for Withdrawing Troops

Great Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that Great Britain will withdraw its troops from Iraq. The plan that has been rumored for some time is that about 7000 troops will be withdrawn from southern Iraq by this summer, beginning with 1500 going home in the coming weeks. So has Blair seen the light? Is he properly embarrassed by his sycophantic lapdog role with President Bush? Does he regret the lies he told in order to support the Bush administration’s illegal and unnecessary war in Iraq? Of course not. As a matter of fact, Blair made his own “Mission Accomplished” announcement. The public reason Blair used for his plans to withdraw troops is that the Brit’s code-named “Sinbad” operation in Basra has been successful and is now complete, therefore the Brits can pull out their troops. But the private reason Blair will withdraw British troops is that Blair is going to step down soon (read, step down before getting unceremoniously booted out) after ten years of being Prime Minister and he doesn’t want his legacy to be soiled by leaving troops in Iraq. Heartwarming. And ridiculous. As though the Brits and the world will look at Blair’s involvement in the war in Iraq in a more kindly way because he withdrew troops before stepping down. Although, Blair’s hope for a positive critique by writers of history is not quite as preposterous as George Bush’s belief that the writers of history not only will judge him in a positive light, but will see his war as anything but stupid and criminally insane. As CNN said, no matter how the Bush administration spins this news from Blair it’s a big blow for the White House. And questions are already being floated. Like, what happens when Blair’s mission accomplished in Basra turns out to be as big a joke as George Bush’s mission accomplished extravaganza on the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003? How will the US handle having to replace the 7000 British troops in Basra with US troops? Tony Blair can write his pullout scene any way he likes, but the fact is, the rats have deserted the White House Insane Asylum’s sinking ship. It really doesn’t matter any more what Crazy George says. It doesn’t matter any more how Cheney spins the latest news or in what way Tony Snow once more sounds like a ranting idiot. Because the main point is how voters will vote. And right now, this morning, the Republicans are done for in 2008. And that’s the bottom line, base and ugly as that may be. The fact that our soldiers are being killed day after day for no good reason in Iraq is not going to end this war. Americans planning to vote against the Republican Party will end this war.