Mission Creep, Strategic Drift, And An Unending War: Just The Recipe For Success In Iraq

Why the W, Rove and Co continues predict the future in some areas but not others is an obvious political gambit to gain support for their agenda. Here's the most recent:

The terrorists also know that as freedom takes hold, the ideologies of hatred and resentment will lose their appeal, and the advance of liberty, equality and self government in the broader Middle East will lead to a much safer world for our children and our grandchildren...We know that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. We know that if we leave Iraq before the mission is completed, the enemy is going to come after us. Having seen our interests attacked repeatedly over the years, and knowing the ambitions of the terrorists, this nation has made a decision: We will engage these enemies. We will face them far from home, so we do not have to face them on the streets of our own cities.

Trouble is, that when the Big Dick Cheney suggest things are getting better in Iraq and then claim that withdrawing troops would be harmful to the war on terror, he does it in the face of the British move to withdrawal their troops. If withdrawing troops is good enough for the British, why not for our troops in harms way?

This isn’t the first reduction in the British contingent, which originally numbered 40,000. But it comes at a time of spiraling violence in Iraq and emboldened opposition in Washington to Mr. Bush’s disastrous war. It also comes as Mr. Blair is preparing to leave office, painfully aware that popular fury over the war threatens to overwhelm his entire legacy.

The British announcement has already served as the catalyst for other departures. Denmark, with 460 troops under British command, announced yesterday that it would leave by August. With the Pentagon already straining to find enough soldiers for Iraq, a troop drawdown by its most militarily capable ally can only add to the strain — and to the clamor for bringing American forces home as well.

There's nothing artificial about those deadlines. Are the terrorists more or less emboldened by the announcements? Who can say for sure, really?

What we do know is that the coalition of the willing is getting smaller and smaller. Moreover, I've always wondered this: Why is it that the coalition of the willing never included troops from nations of Arabian persuasion? If this really was a decisive struggle as the W, Rove and Co. suggest, the coalition would be getting larger and more inclusive, not shrinking and more exclusive, no? You can go to this link for a list of the actual number of troops provided by coalition members, if you are curious.

Surely, when you have trusted republicans suggesting that the Iraq war is "A train wreck," perhaps we need a new approach rather than stay the course or more of the same (read: surge).

Perhaps, it is time to turn the “Global War on Terror” off, and turn it onto what it really should be - a war on Al Qaeda. Instead, we get mission creep, strategic drift, and an unending war that will be about as successful as the never ending, republican initiated "war on drugs." Really, when the Big Dick Cheney says,

Every member of our military can be certain that America will stay on the offensive in the war on terror.

when will we know that we are done? Mr. Cheney, the American People don't issue blank checks forever, even if the entire Republican controlled congress voted to support your war at the outset. But, remember, the war in Iraq was supported before all the facts were laid on the table.