Did the anti-war movement just save the Iraq mission?

When you hear people talk about the importance of the NetRoots in left-wing politics in the US they’re largely talking about MoveOn.org which was founded to try and get the country to move on from the Monica Lewinsky affair and the Clinton impeachment. It has now become a powerful voice in Democratic party politics and is one of the most strident anti-war organisations. In recent years, it has devoted most of its energies to opposing the Iraq mission.

But MoveOn might just have ensured that America does not leave Iraq prematurely. This week it greeted General Petraeus with an ad (see picture) asking if he was General Petraeus or General Betray Us. Accusing a four star general of treason is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the anti-war movement during Vietnam era and instantly transformed the atmosphere surrounding Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker’s report on Iraq, putting the Democrats on the defensive. The slur on Petraeus meant that they felt obliged to make clear their respect and admiration for the general before questioning him. This made it difficult for them to dispute his argument that the surge was working and that continuing with it was the least worst option.

Following Petraeus and Crocker’s carefully argued testimony, no legislation mandating a deadline for troop withdrawals will pass Congress. This guarantees that US troops will not be on the way out of Iraq when the next president takes office and so Iraq will become the next president’s problem. Faced with the reality of the situation, whoever is in the Oval Office is unlikely to embrace a strategy of precipitate withdrawal. Instead the next president will opt to stay long enough to ensure that the United States can leave without doing irreparable damage to its strategic interests and moral reputation. (Note how even in his most anti-war speech to date, Obama leaves himself plenty of wriggle room). Ironically, MoveOn might just have brought the renewed American effort in Iraq what it most needed: time.