Bush and McCain See No End In Iraq

It seems clear that George Bush and John McCain do not see any end to our involvement in Iraq.

Bush has now said that

"It seems that no matter what happens in Iraq, opponents of the war have one answer: retreat. When things were going badly in Iraq a year ago, they called for withdrawal. Then we changed our strategy, launched the surge, and turned the situation around. . . . In the face of these changes on the ground, congressional leaders are still sounding the same old call for withdrawal. I guess you could say that when it comes to pushing for withdrawal, their strategy is to stay the course. It's interesting that many of the same people who once accused me of refusing to acknowledge setbacks in Iraq now are the ones who are refusing to acknowledge progress in Iraq."

Everyone will acknowledge that the surge has been effective. If we put enough troops on the ground in Iraq, of course we can suppress the violence for a time. The real question is what our long-term strategy should be. Should we stay in Iraq forever because there will always be a threat that anti-American forces will grow there if we leave? Or should we begin a measured withdrawal so that Iraq can handle its own problems, and we're not continually fomenting anti-American sentiment around the world? We can't afford to stay there forever. Nor should we.