Iraq

So what would make me spend half hour deconstructing Bush's speech for specific actions and metrics? I asked myself that today (and others have asked me). My best answer is that it is the first thing I typed once the speech was done.

I want to see the US accomplish its mission in Iraq. I want to see a peaceful, free, democratic Iraq and I want to see it become an example for the region. I understand why we do not have timetables, but we need benchmarks for success and metrics to measure those benchmarks if we are to succeed.

Like others, I'm frustrated by the feeling that this administration isn't being honest or realistic about the situation in Iraq. I don't like that they use the war to divide the country politically. I don't like that they use "support the troops" rhetoric while cutting VA benefits. Against all odds, I was hoping for something different last night.

We're not going to accomplish our mission by pretending everything is going well everyday. I'm not saying things are going poorly; there's a surprising amount of success in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But the insurgency can't be in its "last throes" while we also benefit from attracting more terrorists to the Iraq through the "flypaper theory"; one of those must be wrong. Last year, the Bush administration went through a few months trying to say that rising violence was a sign of success. I would rather see the administration acknowledge that we will experience days of setbacks and failures in Iraq, even as we remain determined to ultimately succeed. Talking honestly about the bad would make us more credible when good news comes along.

My biggest fear is that the administration's cheerleading will allow them to declare victory and run. That's right, my fear isn't that we're stuck in a quagmire but that the administration will retreat too early (proclaiming success all the way), leaving Iraq before the new government is capable of handling their security and government.

We, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, need to make a commitment to stay in Iraq until certain security and political benchmarks are met. President Bush and Congress, and that includes the moderate Democrats in the opposition, still need to define those exact benchmarks and explain them to the American people. That was supposed to be the goal of the speech last night, and I believe on that point the president failed.