The fun just never ends.
The gang that brought us "mission accomplished" now has a bold new plan for victory. Why we never had a plan for victory in 2002 before we started this mess is beyond me.
What exactly are the conditions for Victory in Iraq? What does Victory look like? I think the simple fact is, at some point there will be a fight for Iraq. A civil war after a revolution is sorta part of the model. And most of the insurgency has actually been a civil war. The parts directed against the US (dare I say Coalition) forces are a parcel of that struggle.
The current regime in Iraq or any regime, for that matter, would need a security force to shore up it's position as the government and police begin to throw the blanket of law and order over the society. That will probably take years.
Yet it is too volitile for that force to be the Americans or the Tiny Coalition. I needs to come from the Middle East itself, to include Iran. So it needs to be more than just the Arab League.
We must remeber that not just Arabs have a stake here. The Arabs, Iranians, Kurds, Turks, Sunni, Shia, Zoroastrians and Christians, farmers and businessmen, men and women of the region must come together to make this work. A strictly American or Tiny Coalition answer imposed cannot last for any of them.
I'm sure all anyone on this side of the pond wants is an exit with honor. There is no simple recipe for victory that the Bush team can sum up in 32 pages.
Please read it for yourselves.
Whitehouse Strategey for Victory in Iraq
Say a prayer for the Iraqis and the Americans.
Mike
