First a sad tribute to the sacrifice of 2,500 US troops who have given their lives in the war. I wonder if Tony Snow would say "It is just a number" if he had a son or daughter among those 2500 soldiers? Actually, what are the chances that anyone in the White House knows any soldier who died in this conflict?
While the violence in Iraq continues, the Congress has decided to debate the merits of the Iraq war. Of course this debate is only in the form of a nonbinding resolution. Now the question seems to be: are we making any progress? The Washington Post quotes Jack Murtha (D-PA) saying "We are not making any progress." and Mike Rogers (R-MI) "We make progress every day." Which one is right?
Well let's take a look at the Brookings Institution Index published in the New York Times today. Yes, al-Zarqawi is dead, and that's good news. But, the numbers of estimated insurgents, daily attacks, and civilians deaths have all risen over the past few years. The authors conclude, "But overall, it is increasingly hard to describe Iraq as a glass half-full."
If the Brookings Institution's analysis is correct, then the longer we stay the more insurgents we create. It could be the case that if we withdrawal all at once the low level civil war in Iraq could become full fledged mayhem. However, it is clear or should be clear that we cannot continue on our current course without disaster.
We should embrace the calls being made for a concrete timeline for withdrawal and redeployment of our troops. As Jim Webb has said, we need to make it clear the "United States has no long-term plan to occupy Iraq." Republicans seem to think they can yet again run against the Democrats as weak on national defense. Let's turn this around. President Bush and congressional Republicans are responsible losing the war in Iraq. Oh and our position in Afghanistan has been deteriorating as well. President Bush won both wars, before he started losing them.
Let us show them we can only win in Iraq if we change our strategy. And that will only change when we change our leadership.
When asked about the 2,500 deaths in Iraq:
It's a number.
-Tony Snow