During the presidency of George H. Bush, the UN requested US troops be deployed in Somalia.  Shortly after he lost for re-election, in December 1992, Mr. Bush agreed and sent the troops to Somalia.  Then during the Clinton administration, Republicans kept up a fairly constant refrain that American troops should not be deployed in Somalia (I guess stabilizing Somalia isn't important.)  The interesting thing is while these Republicans were complaining, it never occurred to them that they were ”encouraging the enemy” or “demoralizing the troops”.

Atlantic Free Press put out a great opinion piece this morning (Statesmanship or Hypocrisy?) comparing Republican statements made in 1993 to statements made in 2007, and it's hard to believe from the statements alone that the same person is speaking.  Featured are Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Arizona Senator John McCain, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (Minority Leader).

Here's a sample…

Mitch McConnell 1993:
The only issue here tonight is how we leave and, in my judgment, the Byrd amendment better defines the proper exit for the United States in this most unfortunate experience in Somalia…

Mitch McConnell 2007:
I think it is inappropriate for the Congress to try to micromanage, in effect, the tactics in a military conflict. I don't think Congress has the authority to do it.

Following the hyprocisy thread, the article reminds the the reader that three days before Nancy Pelosi visited Syria, no less than three Republican representatives (Frank Wolf of Virginia, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, and Robert Aderholt of Alabama) were in Syria meeting with the Syrian President. In response to Ms. Pelosi's visit, Mr. Bush said that sending delegations to Syria didn't work, while his party had sent a delegation just a few days before.  No mention of that delegation while Mr. Bush was busy denigrating Ms. Pelosi.  Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is noted as observing that Ms. Pelosi's trip is evidence of the “dysfunction” in Washington.  Unsurprisingly, he also makes no mention of the Republican delegation.

The article ends on the sad note that as long as this politicking continues, American soldiers and Iraqi citizens continue to die.  The closing paragraph makes clear that Democrats are not off the hook, and the job of resolving the situation in Iraq belongs to all parties, not just the Republicans:

…While politicians of both parties volley high-sounding words back and forth across the political net, American soldiers and Iraqi citizens are dying. Non-binding resolutions will not prevent these tragedies; only acts by Congress that require nothing close to the courage of American soldiers and Iraqi freedom fighters will stop this war. Yet there is little to indicate that many members of Congress have the strength of conviction to accomplish this life-saving task. And so the tragedy continues.

It's a great (if depressing) read. Check it out.