Post-Election Politics Will Favor Meaningful Debate on Iraq

Post-Election Politics Will Favor Meaningful Debate on Iraq

The closer the mid-term elections get, the less responsible the debate over Iraq is likely to become. Inversely, post-election political dynamics will favor arguments and options more grounded in reality than rhetoric.

The national debate over the way forward in Iraq will become much more consequential the evening the votes are counted. Regardless of which party finds itself in control of Congress on Nov. 8, the new political constellation will favor a reduction in partisanship and some unusual political bedfellows.

If the Republicans retain control of Congress, they will give increasingly less fealty to a lame-duck White House. Regardless of the Bush administration's wishes, Republican leaders will move quickly to improve the situation in Iraq in time for the 2008 election cycle. While Republicans are wedded to "stay the course" until election day, that slogan will become politically poisonous on Nov. 8. Having dodged the political bullet in 2006, they will stand little chance of doing the same in 2008 if the situation in Iraq fails to improve markedly.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review