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Democrats propose Iraq pullout by Fall of 2008

In the wake of proposed legislation by the Democrats mandating a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Buzz Patterson, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and former presidential attaché, says it is very evident that the Democrats in Congress are putting their White House aspirations ahead of America's national security.

House Democrats are crafting legislation that requires U.S. troops to be pulled out of Iraq by no later than the fall of 2008. Meanwhile, the Senate is proposing a bill requiring withdrawal to begin no later than 120 days after the legislation is enacted, with the goal of redeployment by March 31, 2008.

Patterson, who now serves as chief operating officer of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, says Congress is attempting to overstep its authority. "You have the Democratic Congress and the Senate trying to assume the position of being the Commander in Chief, which is constitutionally not allowed," he notes.

"Now, they can dictate how to spend money," Patterson points out. "And if they really had any gumption and any courage, they would threaten to withdraw all funding for troops," he says, "but they're not willing to do that. That's politically untenable."

The former Air Force pilot says the Democrats cannot afford a U.S. military victory in Iraq. "The majority of the party, the power in the party, are the Pelosis and the Murthas," he observes. "And the Clintons are banking on defeat [in Iraq and] don't want to see success, because that means political failure back here in the States for them."

Patterson feels the Democrats are putting political power ahead of national security. "If we succeed in Iraq, the Democrats will lose in 2008; if we fail in Iraq, [a Democratic candidate] will probably win the White House in 2008. That's what they're banking on," he says.

"Unfortunately, the people that pay the price for that are not the Democrats," the lieutenant colonel says. "The people paying the price for that are going to be our fine men and women in uniform," he asserts, "and the sacrifices that they've put up with over the last four or five years will be for naught."

The Democrat-controlled U.S. Legislature is trying to assume the role of Commander in Chief of the America's Armed Forces, Patterson asserts; however, he says the U.S. Constitution clearly designates that as the job of the president of the United States. The White House has threatened a veto if the Democrats pass their proposed timetable legislation.