Chuck Schumer has discovered a deep, abiding fear of war, and we should all take a moment to appreciate the timing.
After a Senate briefing on Iran, Schumer emerged to declare that he fears “now more than ever” that the U.S. will put “boots on the ground.” He called the administration’s answers “very unsatisfying.” He warned gravely about “mission creep” and “endless war.” It was a stirring performance from a man who has been in the Senate since 1999 and apparently just heard those words for the first time.
This is the same Chuck Schumer who voted for the Iraq War in 2002 and rubber-stamped Obama’s drone strikes across seven countries without a single press conference about “mission creep.”
He didn’t discover anti-war principles when Obama was bombing Libya. He didn’t find his voice on “endless war” when Biden was handing Afghanistan back to the Taliban after 20 years and $2 trillion. These concerns are very new. They arrived, with remarkable precision, the moment a Republican sat back down in the Oval Office.
The pattern isn’t subtle. Democrats vote to send troops, then rediscover their conscience when the other team is in charge, then vote to send troops again the next time they win. It’s not a principle. It’s a talking point on a rotation schedule.
To be fair, concerns about military escalation with Iran are legitimate. There are real questions worth asking about rules of engagement, exit strategies, and Congressional authorization. Those are serious debates that serious people should have.
Schumer is not the right man to lead that debate. He forfeited the credibility a long time ago.
Someone should remind him the cameras were rolling during the Obama years too.