In the Washington Post on September 20, reporter Ann Scott Tyson wrote these words about U.S. Army General John P. Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command: GÇ£Asked point blank whether the United States is winning in Iraq, Abizaid replied: GÇÿGiven unlimited time and unlimited support, weGÇÖre winning the warGÇÖGÇ¥.
The general deserves credit for his honesty, which leads us to ask if as a nation we are willing to commit our sons and daughters to Iraq for an GÇ£unlimitedGÇ¥ time, with GÇ£unlimited supportGÇ¥ ($$). From polling and anecdotal data it appears more and more Americans are increasingly uncomfortable to be saddled with unlimited commitments in Iraq.
Not so the President. Since Labor Day Mr. Bush has continued to beat the drums of GÇ£staying the courseGÇ¥, not GÇ£cutting and runningGÇ¥, and GÇ£democracy on the march in the Middle EastGÇ¥. In view of the fact that he and his Administration got us there in the first place, with no solid evidence of a connection between Iraq and international terrorism, can we trust him to turn around the war effort? Fewer and fewer Americans think so.
VirginiaGÇÖs Senator George Allen thinks so, however. Allen has voted with the President overall more than 90 percent of the time, and has been one of his most staunch defenders on Iraqi war policy. The term GÇ£slavish adherenceGÇ¥ to Bush policy comes to mind.
Do the President and Senator fathom that the extended presence of our military fans the flames of what is close to all-out civil war? That IraqGÇÖs security forces are so infiltrated by militia groups that we can do little to disentangle them? That even if Iraqi troops can be trained to GÇ£stand upGÇ¥ on their own, their government is years away from performing basic functions like properly clothing, arming, transporting and paying them?
Mr. Bush is in office until 2009. However, soon Virginia voters can choose an alternative to George Allen GÇô Jim Webb. Webb understands issues raised by questions like those above, from first hand experience; he has been asking similar questions since the beginning of this costly adventure in GÇ£nation-buildingGÇ¥. Webb is serious about finding alternatives to the present failing policy, by beginning to re-deploy U.S. troops throughout the region, to give the Iraqi government a better chance to act on its own.
The President and Senator bear responsibility for failed Iraq policies, and they are unwilling and perhaps incapable to consider another course of action. Alternatively, Jim Webb is a solid choice to help a new Congress craft and advocate for a new Iraqi policy. We need to fight international terrorism with more effective intelligence gathering and tougher, more extensive international criminal investigations -- not knee-jerk military adventures that only inflame the overall problem.
John Romano
Arlington, VA