Administration Rules Out Pullout Timeline

Well, I'm certainly happy to have found this article on MSNBC's news site:

Deadline for troop withdrawal ruled out.

I'm hoping that this is indeed the case, because I had heard reports earlier to the contrary. Earlier this afternoon it would have appeared that in the exuberance of yesterday's elections President Bush and Prime Minister Blair had come to some very wrong conclusions. While the elections were held, there are still quite a few hurdles that the new Iraqi government will have to get over with the Coalition at their side.

The first reports about the major coalition partners establishing some withdrawal timelines would have been wrong on a number of levels...allow me to point out some of the fallacies of getting out Iraq before our time:

1. If we're to remember our history...conflicts, grudges, and issues in "that part of the world" are not measured in duration in a matter of days, months or even years. Even the animals who use the handicapped as weapons have the patience to wait for the best opportunities to strike. If the Coalition and Iraqi government were to say that major units were to leave by the end of this year, they'd bide their time and sucker 'the good guys' into thinking that all was well.

2. Some of the points made in my reference article are quite sound indeed. We need to assist the Iraqi security forces to gain experience and confidence. Starting out slow in the more peaceful areas might just be the trick. It will also allow the more experienced and capable forces of the Coalition to concentrate on eliminating as many of the foreign influences that have been stirring up so much trouble where things are just a little bit hotter.

3. While I believe that we will one day leave Iraq to the Iraqis, I think it best to move slowly. As the new government is seated, I believe that we have to be very clear in our expectations. We have assisted the government to get to the point where it could be elected at the price of 1415 American lives lost and 10,000 wounded troops. While the Iraqis have sacrificed a great deal too, I think we've earned the right to strongly advise the interim government about how they might want to proceed towards complete independence. We are simply there to back up their play at this point.

It's been a long hard fight so far...and we probably have another 18 months to go before we really are able to draw down significantly, but the partnership between the Coalition and the Iraqis will have to work together to identify those points in time.

See you all on the high ground...I'll be admiring those with purple fingers!

MajorDad1984

And here is the rest of it.