Bush Looking for More Time on Iraq

The Iraq war seems to be continuing its controversial swing for the current administration. The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice countered criticism from sections of congress regarding the continued occupation of Iraq by extolling virtues of not pulling out of Iraq. The administration is seeking support for the war in hopes that the American people and Congress will give Bush's Iraq strategy time to work. She conveyed "I understand people's concern. I understand people's impatience."

Recently, the House of Representatives voted 223-201 to withdraw American troops by next spring. However, Rice did submit to the criticism that the Iraqi government is still not at a state of readiness for governance. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government is still unable to manage the sectarian violence plaguing the nation on a daily basis.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon confirmed that the current government does not have the requite logistics controls in place to make a transition from U.S. occupation to self-governance and security independence.

General Mixon stated, "What troubles me about this debate - and it is important and it needs to be debated, for sure - is it seems to me that we should first decide what we want the end state to be in Iraq, and how is that end state important to the United States of America, to this region and to the world - and then determine how we can reach that end state and how much time it will take."

However, Rice wants the critics to wait till September 2007 when commanding General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker deliver their assessment of ground realities in Iraq. She wants the Bush policy of troop build up to be given a chance to work before the troop withdrawal option is placed on the table.

Nevertheless, the U.S. is nowhere close to ending sectarian violence ignited by the U.S. led invasion. It is difficult to make progress on something that was misconceptualized in the first place. The foundation for the invasion was weak which showed cracks from the beginning and that same foundation is now crumbling. How do you sustain a war that was unsustainable to begin with? The administration doesn't want to use the word defeat, but that is what we are facing at the hands of the insurgents.

The war didn't end with the capture of Saddam Hussein but it was simply the beginning of a tenuous struggle for peace on the ground. We have defeated Saddam but not garnered the goodwill of the Iraqi's. Anyone looking through the prism of reality would be hard pressed to defend the Bush policy of the war on terrorism in Iraq.

Fortunately, the true believers in and out of the administration are growing smaller each day. One would hope by now that logic would prevail from the depths of a shielded insular administration, a shield that deflects any realism, fact, logic, or sagacious counsel and criticism. How can we expect the navigators of the war in Iraq, President Bush and Vice President Cheney to navigate us out of the war? The Democrats only need 18 Republican to join them to overcome a Bush veto. Currently, less than a dozen Republicans are ready to abandon President Bush. Under the current circumstances I don't see the Democrats overcoming the veto. It is improbable to sustain a $2 billion per week war and our nation's prosperity at the same time. Unfortunately, President Bush through his deeds has chosen the former.

Bush Looking For More Time on Iraq