Can’t We All Just Get Along?

It appears – on the surface at least – that the major players in the Iraq debate all want the same thing. The interim government of Iraq, the terrorists, the Administration and its opponents in the U.S. all want the United States out of Iraq. At least some of those groups should be working together on it. Unfortunately, they appear to have different ideas about how and when and to what end.

It appears – on the surface at least – that the major players in the Iraq debate all want the same thing. The interim government of Iraq, the terrorists, the Administration and its opponents in the U.S. all want the United States out of Iraq. At least some of those groups should be working together on it. Unfortunately, they appear to have different ideas about how and when and to what end.

The bad guys – both Iraqi and foreign – are easy to understand. They want us out so they can restore a totalitarian government. Some prefer Baathist, some prefer Islamic, but none has the slightest intention of permitting Iraqi society to continue its present trajectory of democratization, free markets and freethinking. Which is why, although the interim Iraqi government and many in the Iraqi public also want American forces out of the country, by a huge margin they don’t want us out NOW.

Americans are split. The left-of-the-left opposition wants our soldiers out either to “save” them from their mission or because they don’t like the mission and some, in fact, want the mission to fail because they don’t like the President. There are few of them that count, so we will ignore them.

Among people who DO count, the position that most concerns us is the John Murtha/ Chuck Hagel demand for a timeline for withdrawal. Their position appears to be, “Set up an Iraqi army and turn it loose; if it fails, it wasn’t meant to succeed.” There are serious discussions to be had on how to bring a society scarred from 35 years of brutality to the idea of politics as the art of the possible. And constitute an army of the people from an army that repressed and murdered the people at the whim of the dictator. And build an officer corps with leadership, initiative and loyalty to the constitution. And turn oil revenues into a bond among the people rather than a private purse. None of those discussions, however, lend themselves to a calendar-driven withdrawal.

At the Naval Academy today, President Bush quoted Sen. Joe Lieberman, and so will we. “Setting an artificial timetable would discourage our troops because it seems to be heading for the door. It will encourage the terrorists. It will confuse the Iraqi people.”

The President added, “Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send a message across the world that America is weak and an unreliable ally … would send a signal to our enemies that if they wait long enough, America will cut and run and abandon its friends … would vindicate the terrorist tactics of beheadings and suicide bombings and mass murder and invite new attacks on America.

“As the Iraqi forces grow in number, they’re helping to keep a better hold on the cities taken from the enemy. And as Iraqi forces grow more capable, they’re increasingly taking the lead in the fight against the terrorists. Our goal is to train enough Iraqi forces so they can carry the fight. And this will take time and patience. And it’s worth the time and it’s worth the effort.”

Surely Senator Hagel and Congressman Murtha can put their considerable political muscle behind the goal without the deadline.