The US Lowers Expectations in Iraq
WP
. An interesting article on how the administration is lowering
expectations over what can be achieved in Iraq. Frankly, I doubt that
this new logic has made its way
to the President.
“The
terrorists cannot defeat
us on the battlefield,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “The
only way they can win is if we lose our nerve. That will not happen on
my watch.”
There are still problems with this new framework. It
assumes that our presence will improve things (even a little) if given
enough time. All the evidence points to the contrary. Everything, from
employment to basic services have declined since our arrival. The
opposition is getting smarter and more capable by the day (our “Spanish
Civil War”) and there is no evidence that they are even in the ballpark
of collapse. Finally, those that we consider allies (or passive
players) are beginning to fragment and may soon turn on us. Right wing
militias are on the march. Iraq will soon become a black hole that
sucks in all of its adjacent states. Time is not on our side. We had
our chance and squandered it. It's all downhill from here. [John Robb's Weblog]