For a good clear explanation of what’s so terribly wrong with the amendment Senators Salazar and Alexander have offered to the Defense appropriations bill currently being debated, read out “Embarrassment” editorial today here.

Salazar-Alexander is a textbook example of why foreign policy should not be made in Congress, where reality takes a backseat to logrolling and posturing. If these senators think the war is lost they should say so, and accordingly try to cut the funding for the mission, which is their constitutional prerogative. Otherwise, they shouldn’t seek to hide behind a legislative muddle that could be very harmful. They call it a compromise. It’s really an embarrassment.