

The Washington Post, God bless its Iraq-war-loving red soul, buried one of the most important war stories of the day in a little blurb hidden at the bottom of page 3. Namely, that Republican foreign policy expert, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), blasted George Bush, the surge, and the overall chances for success in Iraq last night in a long, detailed speech on the floor of the US Senate.

The reason the Lugar speech mattered isn’t because substantively Lugar is correct. It mattered because Lugar is the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is also considered by many, me included, to be the top Republican foreign policy expert in the Senate. Add to that the fact that Lugar doesn’t make speeches like this – public criticism of the president, or of anyone, isn’t Lugar’s thing. And he certainly doesn’t make such criticism when the atmosphere surrounding the issue is already superheated – i.e., Lugar wouldn’t risk fanning the flames unless the situation were dire. Lugar’s speech could very well be a turning point for how Congress address’ the war in the future. Republicans are already sounding the alarm that come this September, they want to see us announce a plan to draw down our troop levels (lest the GOP lose the next elections too). Lugar just gave the mushy middle the reason, and the cover, to stand up and say “enough.” The importance of his speech cannot be understated. And it most certainly does not deserve being treated as a blurb buried on the bottom of the page. You can read the text of Lugar’s speech here.