Saturday, November 26, 2005
Remarkable Agreement on Iraq ... and Disagreement
If we put aside the extremes, there is remarkable agreement on Iraq policy from both the left and right. The end goal is to have a stable democratic Iraq. The means to achieve that goal is to build up Iraqi institutions, particularly the police and military. As those institutions become more capable, we will withdraw our presence.
So why all the "sturm und drang"?
The critical question for many politicians is simply: who will get the credit?
A clear Bush "victory" in Iraq would be devastating for the Democrats.
Thus the loud demands that he do what he is doing, all the time pretending that he is not doing it, and were he doing it, that they could do it better as he is doing terribly at it. For some, there also is a willingness to see if they keep him from doing it.
No one is willing to admit that the basic plan is the same for almost all responsible politicians.
If we put aside the extremes, there is remarkable agreement on Iraq policy from both the left and right. The end goal is to have a stable democratic Iraq. The means to achieve that goal is to build up Iraqi institutions, particularly the police and military. As those institutions become more capable, we will withdraw our presence.
So why all the "sturm und drang"?
The critical question for many politicians is simply: who will get the credit?
A clear Bush "victory" in Iraq would be devastating for the Democrats.
Thus the loud demands that he do what he is doing, all the time pretending that he is not doing it, and were he doing it, that they could do it better as he is doing terribly at it. For some, there also is a willingness to see if they keep him from doing it.
No one is willing to admit that the basic plan is the same for almost all responsible politicians.
