Remember this:
The "plan" opened with these words of inspiration:
PART I -- STRATEGIC OVERVIEW
"Our mission in Iraq is clear. We're hunting down the terrorists. We're helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We're advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability, and laying the foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren."
-- President George W. Bush
June 28, 2003
The report was drafted almost a year ago, long after the reality of post-war Iraq rendered the platitudes in Bush's epigraph bitterly and ironically untrue. The rest of the document is equally meaningless. (Part 1, Section 9 begins: "Our strategy is working...") But let's entertain for a moment a few of the "core assumptions" in Bush's Strategic Summary of "Clear, Hold, and Build":
- The training, equipping, and mentoring of Iraqi Security Forces will produce an army and police force capable of independently providing security and maintaining public order in Iraq.
- While we can help, assist, and train, Iraqis will ultimately be the ones to eliminate their security threats over the long term.
Is systematic murder what they meant by "maintaining public order"? Funny, for some reason the death squads don't make it to the photo gallery of the Multi-National Security Transition Command. Feingold is right -- Foley's a footnote, or should I say comma. The ongoing scandal that defies all imagination is just how badly Bush screwed up in Iraq, and how no one will call him into account for it. In Iraq today, a terrorist attack occurs, on average, every 15 minutes, up from every hour six months ago. And how exactly is Bush the tougher choice on terrorism when he's stubbornly presiding over its proliferation in Iraq? Just thought all this was worth noting, as Bush goes on tour to beat the Democrats over the head some more with national security -- and, yet again, promising victory in Iraq.