Mr. Bush and Iraq (Wash Post op ed)

[jbfam4]

Mr. Bush and Iraq
Sunday, September 19, 2004; Page B06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32161-2004Sep18.html?referrer=email


Yet Mr. Bush, who spent the week campaigning for reelection, has offered scant acknowledgment of the quandary he faces or of the worsening state of a mission that has dominated more than half of his first term. His description of Iraq is bland to the point of dishonesty: "Despite ongoing acts of violence," he repeated Friday, "that country has a strong prime minister, they've got a national council and they are going to have elections in January of 2005." Not only has Mr. Bush not said how, or whether, he intends to respond to the worsening situation; he doesn't really admit it exists.


This duck-and-cover strategy may have its political advantages, but it is also deeply irresponsible and potentially dangerous. As conservative Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) put it last week, "the worst thing we can do is hold ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we're winning. Right now, we are not winning. Things are getting worse."


Too often American soldiers and commanders have been flung into the breach between illusion and reality. Many have responded with great courage and creativity, and they can point to many accomplishments that receive little attention back home. But more than 1,000 have died, thousands more as well have paid a terrible cost and no end to these losses is in sight.

Whatever his rhetoric, Mr. Bush deserves to be judged by this record. In our view, it is one of courage in setting goals and steadfastness in sticking to them but also one of extraordinary recklessness and incompetence in execution. It may be that the current disorder in Iraq was inevitable following a U.S. invasion and that a wiser approach could not have prevented it. Yet we believe Mr. Bush could have achieved much more. Now he tells voters he will stay the course; the way to make that promise convincing is to be honest with Americans about the challenge he now faces -- and to lay out a realistic response to it.

[izzie]

1. How do we make him? He has taken the easy way out his whole life.

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[ixion]

2. the 'easy way out' for * is paved with the broken lives of other people

Including the wealthy, which is why he has to give so much back to them now. IMO, * really couldn't care less about anyone who actually works for a living.

If he's made anything crystal clear, it is that. Why people don't see that is beyond me. :crazy:

[izzie]

3. It is like people really do not want to think about any of it.

People die. and so what. I just do not understand that type of Christian at all.

[acmavm]

4. Again being referred to as 'Mr. Bush'. I love it. It seems harder and

harder for even the diehard bush* supporters to use the the pResident. Which, morally and legally he isn't, at least not to me.