September 1, 2007
It’d all be simpler if only we could see things just the way he does
There’s all kinds of distractions going on with the not gay Larry Craig resigning from the Senate, multi-divorced presidential candidates speaking up about the sacredness of marriage and the possible discovery of the fabled chupacabra, but it’s now September and this is when we were promised an assessment of the Iraq war and the prospects for success with this current surge plan.
The early returns are grim and Our Fine President and ever-shrinking team are scrambling to shore up their side of this, defending their every wrong decision in every way imaginable. When a report said just three of 18 benchmarks had been met in Iraq, Press Secretary Dana Perino said the benchmarks were unreachable goals and asked for partial credit. Unfortunately, until this administration shows their work, they can not receive partial credit.
Oh yeah, if a plan doesn’t achieve it’s goals in the time frame it set, that plan did not work. It’s pretty simple and inherent to the concept of have a plan in the first place. Partial credit for coming close is nice to note and might be informative when evaluating new strategies and assessments of the problem and the goal, but when you’re dealing with a war, partial credit does not equal partial victory.
But apparently talking in any way negatively about Our Fine President’s grand vision and crumbling facade is once again the worst thing someone can do. Doing that is bringing politics into the business of war and as the White House resident says it, “The stakes in Iraq are too high and the consequences too grave for our security here at home to allow politics to harm the mission of our men and women in uniform.”
So, what is he going to think about the comments today from Illinois Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky who just visited the war and learned that General David Petraeus believes our troops will be needed in Iraq for another nine or 10 years? “That was not the timetable I nor most Americans had in mind… Most Democrats and a growing number of Republicans have come to the same conclusion — the best way to protect our troops is to end this war in Iraq.”
If the stakes are as high as Our Fine President says, he needs to make that case and explain to the country just why his goal is in concrete terms. He then needs to explain just how his strategy is the only way to accomplish this extremely important goal. Many of us believe we can combat our nation’s very real enemies without involving our military in an unrelated civil war, even if that is a civil war of our making. Solving that regions problems might just be possible without our troops waging war.
Of course Our Fine President has never refined on his generalizations when talking about the war. He seems to think leadership means acting important, making puffy-chested speeches and standing behind your decisions. It’s actually more of the ability to make others share your vision and the conviction to see that vision realized with the help of those following your lead. Our Fine President has never been able to lead in this war because he’s never effectively communicated his vision for where we’re supposed to go.
It’s almost as if he doesn’t know. Do you think he simply doesn’t have a map?