It's beginning to look a lot like 2002.
Or perhaps I should say 1998. That's when the Senate passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which officially opened the legislative floodgates for the Iraq invasion. This week, the Senate passed legislation that similarly paves the way for our third war in this young century.
This amendment, authored by Senators Lieberman (CT) and Kyl (AZ), is a "Sense of the Senate" resolution. While it has no legal power, it is another step in the wrong direction like its older brother the ILA.
I've never expected much from Lieberman, but this latest display of missing-backbone on behalf of the Democrats lowers my expectations of his former party. Hillary Clinton, who says she wouldn't have voted "that way" on the Iraq War had she known everything she knows now, voted for this. I guess she hasn't learned her lesson. For his part, Barack Obama missed the vote. (Mr. Obama, in the Senate, an abstention is not adequate protest. To register your discontent, you vote "No.")
Democratic Senator Jim Webb called the legislation "Dick Cheney's fondest pipe dream." He went on to unsuccessfully rally that, "we are about to vote on something that may fundamentally change the way that the United States views the Iranian military, and we haven't had one hearing. This is not the way to make foreign policy."
Lieberman -- who has conveniently pushed appropriations for Connecticut's hearty defense industry -- chimed in that "there is no intention of declaring war." I'm sad to say that given this administration's track record on the Middle East, I find this line hard to swallow.
The loud and growing drum beating for an attack on Iran is based on the power of allegations rather than concrete proof.
Then again, we're coming up on an election year and no one wants to appear soft on Iran.
Yesterday, it was announced that President Bush will ask for an increase of $42 billion more to continue the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before we make plans to invade the Middle East for a third time, we should clean up our messes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
This, my fellow Americans, is insane.