Ironically, some of those functions might require more troops. For example, the Iraq Study Group report, often lauded by congressional Democrats, suggested a surge in the number of U.S. troops training the Iraqi military. "Such a mission could involve 10,000 to 20,000 American troops instead of the 3,000 to 4,000 now in this role," the report said.
That means that after the Democratic "redeployment" deadline, there still could be 20,000 troops in Iraq training Iraq's military, plus the troops needed to protect those troops, plus the troops needed to protect our facilities and civilian personnel in Iraq, plus the troops needed to go after al-Qaida and "other terrorist groups" -- whether they be "international" or of "global reach."
In other words, there could be a lot of U.S. troops fighting in Iraq after the Democrats end the war.
Obviously, despite the restrictions Democratic leaders would put on exactly who these remaining troops could attack, there would be no reciprocal restrictions on who could attack them.
Here, too, the supplemental spending bill contradicts itself.
The same section that restricts our troops "to killing or capturing members of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations with global reach" also compels the president to certify to Congress by July 1 "whether the government of Iraq has given United States Armed Forces and Iraqi Security Forces the authority to pursue all extremists, including Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias."
Apparently, Democratic leaders favor a "surge" of their own. They want our troops to go after "all extremists" in Iraq before the redeployment deadline. But, after the deadline, they want our troops only to go after al-Qaida and "other terrorist organizations with global reach."
Presumably, indigenous Sunni insurgents and the Shiite Mahdi Army would be off-limits to attack by U.S. forces -- unless they could be defined as having "global reach."
Come to think of it, does the fact that with a few false documents and an airplane ticket a Sunni insurgent or Mahdi jihadi could be in Washington, D.C., tomorrow give those groups "global reach"?
Somebody better clarify that with Nancy Pelosi before she jets off again on her very personal road to peace.