Posted on 07/16/2007 7:44:37 AM PDT by Reagan Man
Ronald Reagan used to tell the story of a boy so optimistic that when he woke up on Christmas morning and was confronted with a huge mound of manure, he gleefully began shoveling. "There's a pony in here someplace!" he exclaimed.
For President Bush, when it comes to Iraq, every day is Christmas day. He's been shoveling for more than four years but still fully expects that pony to pop out at any moment. On Capitol Hill, though, even Republicans are starting to suspect that the malodorous pile is that and nothing more.
On Thursday, the White House released its latest assessment of the war, and it concluded that on eight of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress, there has been "satisfactory progress." That was enough for a presidential seal of approval. In other words, getting right answers on less than half the exam questions earns a pass. If the standards for No Child Left Behind were that low, we would be descending toward mass illiteracy.
The report trumpeted improvement in some areas, such as reducing sectarian violence and moving toward constitutional revision, while admitting that many plans are not going so well -- such as disarming militias, getting Iraqi forces to fight on their own, and coming up with a fair way to divvy up the country's oil revenue.
In truth, the progress cited in the report is modest and in dispute, even among people in the administration. The failures, on the other hand, are universally acknowledged and of critical importance. The only realistic way to interpret the overall outlook is grim, with no prospect of improvement.
The White House says bloodshed is on the wane. But last week, Thomas Fingar, head of the government's own National Intelligence Council, testified on Capitol Hill that it has "not yet been reduced significantly." Only last month, the Pentagon issued its own report admitting that the violence has not subsided but merely "shifted location."
Certainly Iraq is not getting discernibly safer for the U.S. military. More American troops died in the last three months than in any quarter since the 2003 invasion. Despite the surge, the number of attacks by the enemy has been running at a near-record level. Sunni insurgents are still fully capable of wreaking havoc, like the truck bomb July 7 that killed more than 100 people in Kirkuk.
The Iraq Index is compiled regularly by Brookings Institution defense analyst Michael O'Hanlon, who endorsed the president's surge strategy when it was announced. But its latest edition concludes that the bad news outweighs the good.
Ethnic cleansing, it notes, continues apace, car bombings are still common, the economy is a wreck, and, "perhaps worst of all, the Iraqi political system fails to deliver any real progress on the core issues dividing Sunni from Shia from Kurd." Assessing the Iraqi police, an anonymous Pentagon official told The Washington Post recently that "half of them are part of the problem, not the solution."
Curtailing slaughter is not just a goal in itself but a means to a greater end -- namely, political reconciliation that would provide Iraq with a stable government commanding the allegiance of all groups and regions. In that respect, any alleged successes on the military front have not led to progress in the political sphere.
The Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds are supposed to be working out their differences, but the main Sunni party has been boycotting the cabinet and parliament. One of the benchmarks the administration says has been met is the formation of a Constitutional Review Committee. But the committee is way past the deadline to finish its work. An oil law looks like it is being timed to coincide with the next appearance of Halley's Comet.
By now, we should all know that the president is determined to portray Iraq as a success in the making no matter how much it looks like a failure. He said Thursday that the results of the surge so far are "cause for optimism." But in September 2004, he was "pleased with the progress." In January 2005, he said, "I'm optimistic about it." A year later, he said "we are winning." The president's mood is always good and always wrong.
He wants Congress to be patient and wait until September, when the next progress report is due. At that point, if things go as he expects, he'll be riding at the front of a victory parade, on his brand new pony.
The next paragraph the author WANTED to write, but the article would have been too short:
"At that point, if things go as he expects, he'll be riding at the front of a victory parade, on his brand new pony."
Everything else the author wrote is manure.
This article is crap. More “conservative” bitching and whining about what’s messy and inconvenient with no credible alternative in mind.
Far from it.
Nothing wrong with being optimistic, as long as that optimism is balanced with current facts. Which this article does.
OTHO, making lame excuses and being in a state of denial is a prescription for continued failure.
I agree. The article takes some truths and distorts the picture. I am not saying that Bush has ran this war well at times. I think we needed more troops in the early post-victory stage, and to turn over government early. Once we captured Saddam, we should have pushed for his trial.
Still, Bush’s goals were too high. He was trying to create a Western style democracy where it is not likely to endure. In any event, if Iraq succeeds in hanging in there after we leave, it may be in the long run a better place than any of its neighbors.
The Surge is Working and PravdABDNC’s Worst Nightmare
Pray for W and Our Troops
How? Because Jesus road triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey and not on a war horse. In cooperation with God’s Grace and by the sweat of our brow will we work out our Salvation. I don’t doubt that Muslims will convert in the millions when access to information breaks through yesterday’s and today’s barriers. God's Promise is not a bargain of winning real estate in a hotly contested swamp or desert. He awards us a place in Heaven bought with the price of His Son's Sacrifice.
St Michael cast out Satan with the battle cry “Who is like God?” The human heart will decide when all can honestly answer, “Who is like Jesus?”
When the ignorance is gone from peoples minds, then the (culture of) death and the "false prophet" will be cast from our hearts. Enter Lord Jesus Christ, enter. Let our hearts be Your Throne.
Unshakable Optimism? If God is for us, who can be against if the Spirit of God has set us free?
Bush’s plans for Iraq were naive and he would have been much better off looking to install an upgrade over Saddam with better inclinations toward us. Screw what the NY Times, Paleo Paulie and Pat and the Bruce Bartlett crowd want to scream about since they will never be happy anyway.
Interesting; progress on 8 of 18 benchmarks over 4 years time. Over the same period Congress has mad 0 progress on any benchmarks (social security reform, energy independence, immigration reform, border security,...). The conclusion is obvious. We should immediately set a timetable for withdraw from Congress.
I'll wait for THE final evaluation that comes from General Petraeus in September. Frankly, things don't look good today and they haven't really changed much since the immediate aftermath of the invasion and take down of Saddam's regime. Both handled superbly by our military forces.
This is a sobering and intelligent assessment on the overall status in Iraq. Compact and to the point. The terrorists will continue to fight US led forces as long as we remain in the current mode of operation. And with an endless supply of recruits, AlQaeda isn't about to run out of warm bodies to throw at America's warriors. Employing the same tactics day after day, week after week, month after month, has not lead to a set of circumstances which would allow the daily policing of Iraq to be taken over by Iraqi government forces.
I've never been confident that Iraqi`s have the stomach to fight for their own future freedom and for good reason.
Many great comments taking the opposing view of the author of the article. Thanks to all. BTTT!
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