Capitol Hill in 2007
By Raja Abou Reslan, Staff Writer

Beirut, Lebanon - It was no surprise that after the military fiasco in Iraq, the continued stalemate in Afghanistan, the defiant nuclear threat from both North Korea and Iran, corruption, and growing Republican scandals, that on November 7th , 2006, US voters set out to say that they had had enough. The US midterm elections led to the total restructuring of the political spectrum in Washington from red to blue. In general, after six years of Republican rule and continued mishaps, a Democratic congress does not seem too bad, but will it really affect US foreign policy as we move into 2007?

Democrats and Republicans both have similar views on some of the most important topics, and Congress changing hands is not likely to change that. The new Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s most immediate task would be putting the chairmen of the House committees firmly behind her to reach consensus on major national and foreign issues. Any bills or legislature proposed to Congress by the Democratic bloc would likely pass Congress, but have a hard time of turning into law, thanks to the presidential veto, which would most definitely be enforced. The only legal way of overriding the presidential veto is through the consensus of two-thirds in both Houses. The Democratic Party now controls just over 53% of the House of Representatives, and around 51% of the Senate.

Iraq serves as the major debatable issue on today’s political agenda, not about US troop presence but about how the war is being managed overall. Immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, contrary to what people think, will not occur any time soon despite the elections. A troop withdrawal before Iraq is stable is embarrassing, and will count as another U.S. failure in foreign policy, and therefore is not likely to pass in any of the Houses. Furthermore, Afghanistan is still the stronghold of Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations; therefore, a pull out before the eradication of all terrorist presence, serves to be a potential threat to the United States.

Iran and North Korea are nonnegotiable in their level of severity and importance; hence, any legislative action related to change in the foreign policy directed towards both countries will tend to be minor and insignificant. The Democratic Party has a united front when it comes to Israel, considering the Jewish state an inseparable ally of the U.S. and is likely to practice the same policies pursued by the Republican Party and the current administration.

Critics of the Bush Administration and the Republican Party are going to be disappointed when they realize that business is going to continue as usual in Washington, at least until the next presidential elections. The year 2007 will see minor alterations in the way the US government conducts itself locally and nationally, but the troops will remain in Iraq and Afghanistan until the “job” is done. North Korea will continue to be a nuisance, Iran will hold its defiance and Israel will carry out its military operations in the Middle East.

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