If the Bush administration’s conservatism is characterized by a relentless “war against terrorism,” the left’s position is characterized by an equally determined “war against the war against terrorism.” The goal of left-wing agitation is to convince the Democratic Party as a whole to oppose the war. It is also to sway public opinion against the Bush administration so that the conduct of the war itself becomes untenable. The left has made substantial progress on both fronts. Unified liberal opposition to the war against terrorism has emerged gradually since 9/11, gaining momentum with each passing year. A few days after 9/11, Congress voted pretty much unanimously to give President Bush the authority to use military force to respond to the terrorist attack. Only a minority of liberals—and very few Democrats in Congress—opposed the American invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban. Many more liberals opposed the invasion of Iraq, although a few supported it. Democrats in the House and Senate were divided over the October 2002 Iraq War Resolution.
