IRAQ: "CUT AND RUN", "STAY THE COURSE", AND "WHEN IRAQIS CAN STAND Up, WE'LL STAND DOWN" ALL HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON......
....They are useless b.s.
Democrats portraying the Repubs as stubborn adventurists (while perhaps true) is not constructive. Republicans posing the choice between "Stay the Course" and "Cut and Run" is, at best, intellectually dishonest. Finally, The Government saying it won't tie itself to a timeline, while correct strategically, really doesn't advance at all the inquiry of when redeployment should occur.
First, Boys and Girls, we are already there. Whether it was a good idea or not is for future voters and historians to decide and perhaps between GWB and his creator.
So how about we ditch the slogans and establish benchmarks leading to withdrawal? It is a basic rule of International Law: "You broke it, you fix it!" Just a few suggestions include: Operative, relatively secure oilfields; Expressed in Battalions, an acceptable number (probably five) which can operate as an independent force; Primary, Secondary and University systems staffed and operating; Public utilities supplying all Urban and cultural center populations; The highway system at the capacity it was when the war began; A public health system capable of basic innoculation and infectious disease response; Trained, Equipped Urban Police Forces with a ratio of about 1:1000.
There are probably more. Feel free to add your favorites.
The bigger point here is that Benchmarks are vastly different from timelines. Benchmarks are also different from "When our Mission is Completed", a totally unmeasurable concept. Everybody on all sides of this, from Ned Lamont to GWB is a freaking slogan factory. The biggest asset of Benchmarks as a way to trigger our departure is that are measurable. The politicians on both sides don't want to give us something that can be metered. It's our citizens who are getting getting killed. It's our Billion and Half every Week! It is not too much to ask for a metering device to decide when this exercise has come to an end. So, to the Stay-the-Coursers and the Cut-and-Runners, I say a pox on all your houses. Repent and become Benchmarkers!
posted by UMRBlog @ 09:54
1 comments
1 Comments:
I have been saying these things for a long time - some of which were offered publicly at the 17th candidate forums. I think that the structure of the current force needs to be changed. I have suggested an increase in the amount of special operations forces (SOF) that have a smaller signature than our current brigade and division-sized forces. I have also stated repeatedly to anyone that would listen that offering benchmarks should be a part of any strategic plan - there is nothing wrong with using them in the current circumstance. They would give the American people a greater confidence in the operation. A dangerous threat is the militant religious groups - we need a force to more effectively deal with them. Moreover, you did not mention the need to find or eliminate the nuclear materials of former Soviet states – these materials MUST be accounted for. Whether or not the situation in Iraq and the war on terror were connected in the beginning – they are connected now. A comprehensive plan needs to be developed. Unfortunately, with an increase in the level of threat there may be a need to use some of the provisions in the Patriot Act. It is not 100% freedom vs. 100% security - there has to be a balance, which guarantees both. How can there be 100% freedom and 100% security? From my Catholic school education I will just call it a mystery – I, like Kierkegaard, have faith that it can be accomplished.
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