From Pat Buchanan No Less May 17, 2004February 25, 2017 Pat Buchanan is not the guy you expect to see linked to here, least of all on the day marriage licenses finally become available to gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts. (Some of these devoted couples have been waiting more than 30 years.) But he makes a case on the war that is worth consideration. He argues, in part: Bush’s “world democratic revolution” is history. Given the hatred of the United States and Bush in the Arab world . . . it is almost delusional to think Arab peoples are going to follow America’s lead. . . . Iraq was an unnecessary war that may become one of the great blunders in U.S. history. That the invasion was brilliantly conceived and executed by Gen. Franks, that our fighting men were among the finest we ever sent to war, that they have done good deeds and brave acts, is undeniable. Yet, if recent surveys are accurate, the Iraqis no longer want us there. What should Bush do now? He should declare that the United States has no intention of establishing permanent bases in Iraq, and that we intend to withdraw all U.S. troops after elections, if the Iraqis tell us to leave. Then we should schedule elections at the earliest possible date this year. It didn’t have to be this way. People with better judgment would have focused on Bin Laden, not Saddam. I am sure we will soon capture or kill bin Laden – but we should have done it back then, before al-Qaeda had been able so widely to metastasize. The invasion of Iraq, which we now know was a top Bush agenda item long before September 11, should only have been undertaken as a true last resort (as Bush promised), with far more of the world with us and far better planning for the aftermath. As to gay marriage, those who are upset about it need to understand three things. First, it is voluntary. You don’t have to do it yourself or attend weddings or send gifts. You can even disown your child if he or she does it. Second, it is civil marriage we are talking about, not religious. What the Pope says still goes. Just not with respect to Massachusetts tax law. Third, it’s not about sex. If you want to discourage gay sex, you should be for gay marriage. In the now rather famous words of Bill Maher, What business is it of the state how consenting adults choose to pair off, share expenses, and eventually stop having sex with each other? Loving, stable, supportive relationships are a good thing, not a bad thing. The federal government confers more than 1,100 rights and benefits to married couples that cohabitating singles do not enjoy. Discriminating against one group of citizens by denying them those rights is un-American. It’s not about sex, it’s about discrimination. Today there is just a tiny bit less of it in America.