If there were ever a time when the peace movement should be able to have an impact on U.S. foreign policy, that time should be now. If there were ever a time for extraordinary effort to achieve such an impact, that time is now.

The war in Afghanistan is in its ninth year. McChrystal's proposal could continue it for another ten years, at a likely cost of a trillion dollars, and many more lives of U.S. soldiers and Afghan civilians. The contradiction between domestic needs and endless war was never more apparent. Congress fights over whether we can "afford" to provide every American with quality health care, but every health care reform proposal on the table will likely cost less than McChrystal's endless war. A recent CNN poll says 6 in 10 Americans oppose sending more troops.

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Things continue to go Hillary Clinton's way in Pennsylvania.

From Anne Kornblut:

Rep. John P. Murtha has announced his endorsement of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, bringing his clout as a 17-term member of the House and a prominent anti-war Democrat to bear with more than a month until the primary here in his home state.

"Sen. Clinton is the candidate that will forge a consensus on health care, education, the economy, and the war in Iraq," Murtha wrote in a statement about his decision. [...]

"Her experience and careful consideration of these issues convinced me that she is best qualified to lead our nation and to bring credibility back to the White House," Murtha said. He said he "whole-heartedly" recommends Clinton to all voters in his state.

Interesting that he would focus his endorsement statement on consensus building, i.e. Obama's turf, rather than being "ready at day one" or her readiness as commander in chief, which Kornblut makes a point of saying is the focus of Clinton's appearances this week.

And for those counting at home, that's another superdelegate in Clinton's column. I'm sure the superdelegate concern trolls throughout the blogosphere will be heralding this addition any second now...

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Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has made much on the presidential campaign trail of his opposition to the war in Iraq, particularly his October 26, 2002, speech in which he said he did not oppose all wars but what he did oppose is a "dumb war".

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I'm sorry, Senator Reid, Congressmen Obey and Murtha, and Big Tent Democrat, but September will be just like May, unless . . . you change this:

"I cannot vote ... to stop funding for our troops who are in harm's way."

-- Carl Levin

No, Rep. Obey, if you don't change the Carl Levins the following is b.s.:

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This week Senator Jim Webb introduced legislation that would bar the President from attacking Iran without Congressional authorization. He announced his intention to attach it to the President's request for "supplemental" funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But "Democratic leaders, who indicated general support for the Virginia Democrat's plan last week, are still deciding whether they will attach it," to the supplemental, the Washington Times reports.

Last month, Representative Murtha said he intended to attach language preventing an attack on Iran without Congressional authorization to the supplemental in the House. The Washington Post reported that Speaker Pelosi "strongly endorsed" doing so, but as of this writing the House Democratic leadership had not yet firmly committed itself to attaching this language. Meetings are ongoing.

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