Victory at All Costs!
The New York Sun is reporting that the conclusion of James Baker's 10-member bipartisan commission on Iraq is that "victory" in Iraq is unattainable and that the best resolutions of the conflict include "'Stability First' and 'Redeploy and Contain,' both of which rule out any prospect of making Iraq a stable democracy in the near term."
Now, I doubt the President and his henchmen will call James Baker an "enemy sympathizer" nor will they equate the President's father's former Secretary of State with Nazi appeasers, but you never know with this gang.
I do wonder whether the President will accept the advice and if he does whether the Left will let him. For the President to implement these recommendations would mean a complete and undeniable reversal on everything he's said for the last three years. And it's the deniability he needs. This President will NEVER withdraw from Iraq unless he can declare victory—no matter what that might mean or how he might define it. Will the Left be able to swallow their pride and let the President have his hollow victory in order to stop the madness that is our Iraqi occupation? Will they be smart enough to see a win-win if it arises?
Comments
The solution for Bush is simple. Declare victory (again) and then blame 1) the Iraqis, 2) Isalm's incompatability with democracy, and 3) Bill Clinton for leaving Bush with the mess that he now has on his hands.
Posted by: JML | October 13, 2006 3:28 PM