Duty to the Troops

The president is accusing the congressional Democrats of disloyalty to the troops for setting up Iraq withdrawal timetables. He is obfuscating two separate issues. Once having determined the war policy of the government, the executive and the congress have a duty to support the military commander's decisions, for example through provision of funds. But it is an entirely different function of Congress, a constitutionally mandated one, that it participate in the formulation of the war policy in the first place. And so this Democratic congress is trying to do that, with a clear mandate to do that. If it is the policy of the US to withdraw the troops, for example, then the commanders will begin that process and it will be the duty of the government to provide them with the means to do that. Will the Bush administration, if the time comes, live up to this standard of duty to the troops?