Excerpt from commentary discussing our troop withdrawal &
the reasons for it:
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What emerges here is not fleeting disenchantment, but a coherent and hard-nosed critique of Bush's strategy. The administration's fundamental problem is not that the public is discouraged by U.S. casualties, or that news from Iraq has been bad, or that the president needs to give better speeches. The problem is that many Americans see no stakes in Iraq sufficient to justify the military effort and diplomatic cost.
(poster's note: I think the cost to taxpayers, rising inflation, unprecedented deficit, etc etc are also basic worries of Americans)
If Pew's findings are accurate, then presidential rhetoric and developments in Iraq have mostly ceased to matter. The public will not support a military operation that it has come to regard as social work on behalf of Iraqis, rather than security work on behalf of Americans.
........So by spring, if not earlier, look for Bush to announce that progress in Iraq allows U.S. forces to start coming home. He will say that the drawdown is the best way to help the Iraqis stand on their own.......
He may also say that withdrawing is "not a formula for getting out of [the region], but one that provided the only sound basis for America's staying in and continuing to play a responsible role."
Those were the words of Richard Nixon, who, somewhere, is wanly smiling.
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full article at this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201409.html
the reasons for it:
--------------------------------
What emerges here is not fleeting disenchantment, but a coherent and hard-nosed critique of Bush's strategy. The administration's fundamental problem is not that the public is discouraged by U.S. casualties, or that news from Iraq has been bad, or that the president needs to give better speeches. The problem is that many Americans see no stakes in Iraq sufficient to justify the military effort and diplomatic cost.
(poster's note: I think the cost to taxpayers, rising inflation, unprecedented deficit, etc etc are also basic worries of Americans)
If Pew's findings are accurate, then presidential rhetoric and developments in Iraq have mostly ceased to matter. The public will not support a military operation that it has come to regard as social work on behalf of Iraqis, rather than security work on behalf of Americans.
........So by spring, if not earlier, look for Bush to announce that progress in Iraq allows U.S. forces to start coming home. He will say that the drawdown is the best way to help the Iraqis stand on their own.......
He may also say that withdrawing is "not a formula for getting out of [the region], but one that provided the only sound basis for America's staying in and continuing to play a responsible role."
Those were the words of Richard Nixon, who, somewhere, is wanly smiling.
----------------------------
full article at this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201409.html