One of the benefits of delusional thinking is that it relieves the mind of the stress of contemplating an unpleasant and intractable reality. One of the drawbacks of delusional thinking is that it's not likely to make that reality any better, and may well make it worse.
Take for example the truly comical bi-partisan vote in the House in favor of arming and training Syrian rebels, and it's equally bi-partisan opposition. The 273 votes in favor included 114 Democrats, while the 156 in opposition included 71 Republicans (with three Republicans not voting). Only five states voted unanimously, all in favor (Alaska, Montana, Arkansas, and both Dakotas). This vote was to add an amendment of six micro-managing pages to the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 that would allow, but provide no funding for, the build-up of a Syrian opposition army from "appropriately vetted Syrian groups and individuals."
The amendment ends with this admonition:
"Nothing in this section shall be construed to constitute a specific statutory authorization for the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situations wherein hostilities are clearly indicated by the circumstances." [emphasis added]
On September 17, President Obama told a military audience:
"The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq." [emphasis added]
That congressional admonition, like the presidential assertion, is delusional to the extent that the United States is already at war in Iraq, where U.S. pilots are flying combat mission and an unknown number of special forces are engaged in hostilities and another 1,500 or so soldiers are guarding the embassy and carrying out other missions "wherein hostilities are clearly indicated by circumstances." Iraq is a war zone and has been for more than eleven years. The ground war that started with the U.S. invasion of 2003 has not ended. "Another ground war in Iraq" is delusional or dishonest. Even though the U.S. has mostly withdrawn its military forces, the war in Iraq never ended in any meaningful sense.
By Congressional logic, the president has no statutory to send armed forces there, even though they are already there. The president has said he has all the authority he needs under the AUMFs, the Authorizations for the Use of Military Force passed in 2001 and 2002, open-ended war making authority Congress has chosen not to review. "We're travelling on vapors," said Illinois Senator Dick Durbin of the aging AUMFs on September 18. Then, like all his colleagues, he made no effort to change the situation.
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