Speaker Nancy Pelosi has labored tirelessly to unite House Democrats on a plan to end the Iraq War by attaching weak strings to the upcoming vote on the Supplemental.

Unfortunately, in order to win 17 pro-war "Bush Democrat" votes, Pelosi had to yank the few teeth her bill ever had.

Should the 73-member Out Of Iraq Caucus vote for it? Not unless Barbara Lee's "fully funded withdrawal" amendment is attached.

This is the one and only opportunity Democrats will get to end the war before Bush leaves office. If the 73 anti-war Democrats vote for a completely toothless bill that accomplishes absolutely nothing, the anti-war majority in America will give up all hope for Democratic leadership on the most important issue of our time.

This will not only hurt House and Senate Democrats in their 2008 races. It will also invite Ralph Nader to run for President and take even more votes from our Democratic nominee than he did in 2000.

The Out Of Iraq Caucus is trying to avoid a confrontration with the other 160 Democrats who do not want to take a stand against the war. They do not want to undercut Speaker Pelosi and split the Democratic Caucus. That loyalty is both understandable and commendable.

But the loyalty of anti-war Democrats is not being matched by loyalty from 17 pro-war "Bush Democrats," who not only want to continue this war forever, but also want this President and all future Presidents to have unlimited power to start and expand wars - even if those wars are based entirely on lies, even if they destroy our military, and even if they increase our enemies seven-fold (as the Iraq War has done) or seventy-fold (as an attack on Iran would do).

That is anathema to the Constitution of the United States, and it is military madness.

Rep. Barbara Lee has worked tirelessly to give Democrats a credible alternative in the form of a "fully funded withdrawal." The large and passionate anti-war movement strongly supports Lee's amendment, and polls show the majority of Americans do too.

Unfortunately, few members of the Out Of Iraq Caucus are willing to vote against the Supplemental if Lee's amendment is defeated. (Only 4 have said so publicly.) Wavering members of the Caucus fear it will expose divisions among Democrats and turn anti-war activists against pro-war Democrats.

That may well be true. But there's another way to avoid that outcome, and that's for the 150-odd fence-straddling Democrats to support Barbara Lee's amendment as an act of support for the anti-war majority of voters - Democrats, independents, and Republicans - who elected them.

If 17 pro-war "Bush Democrats" found themselves at odds with the majority of their colleagues and voters, they would have to face the consequences. If these 17 face primaries from anti-war Democrats, House Democrats will not lose their majority - they will gain more principled and progressive Members because the electorate is becoming more anti-war every single day.

The Out Of Iraq Caucus should not protect 17 pro-war "Bush Democrats" from their own bad choices. Too many soldiers have died needlessly, and too many more have been maimed for life. The senseless carnage must stop, and this is the only chance the Out Of Iraq Caucus will have to stop it.

All 73 members of the Out Of Iraq Caucus should declare they will not vote for the Supplemental without Barbara Lee's amendment for a "fully funded withdrawal" from Iraq. They owe it to the progressive movement that elected them - and to their own consciences.