The Moose raises the specter of the "I" word.
Congressional Democrats are settling on a "narrative" and a "frame" for the Iraq War. In essence, their argument is that the President and his Administration practiced massive deceit to lead the nation to war - that they manufactured and manipulated intelligence. In other words, the narrative goes, the President knew there were no weapons of mass destruction and deliberately lied to the Congress and the American people on the road to war. Or as the anti-war movement inelegantly frames it, "Bush lied and Americans died."
The logical extension of this argument is that its advocates should call for impeachment of the President. If there was ever a "high crime and misdemeanor" it is deliberate deceit to lead the country to war. Some of the outer reaches of the left have already reached this conclusion. Is this where the leaders of the party are headed? It sure seems so by the argument that they are now employing.
This author believes that the President and the Administration grievously mismanaged the war. Yesterday, he heard first-hand reports from brave Iraqi democrats who explained that Iranian agents are pouring into the country because the border between the two countries is unguarded and is porous. They are also concerned that they will abandoned by the United States to the tender mercies of the jihadists - and the latest Democratic behavior should give them reason to fear this possibility.
Of course, this Administration was negligent from the beginning in planning for the occupation. Rummy and the boys expected to leave the country soon after the toppling of Saddam and failed to prepare for an insurgency with sufficient troop levels. And we all know the horrendous stories of how our troops even lacked sufficient armor.
But, the Congressional Democrats are not pursuing the Administration's mishandling of the war and the failure to achieve victory. No, they are now headed for Michael Moore territory with the argument that a vast conspiracy concocted a war base on lies. These Democratic leaders should be aware of the path on which they have embarked.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the Bushies first began poisoning the well of public debate with their malicious and despicable attacks on those such as Max Cleland who opposed an anti-labor provision in the Homeland Security legislation. The GOP attack machine descended to another level in '04 by questioning John Kerry's honor and service. The descent continues with the opposition suggesting that the President deliberately, and with malice, lied to provoke a war.
This Administration should be held accountable for its grave errors and incompetence without opening a wound in our political life that will be very difficult to close. -- | 
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