OpEd: Candidates, What's Next?

[unhappycamper]

Candidates, What's Next?
Ray Kimball | January 22, 2008

As the primary season kicks into truly high gear, the extent to which the subject of current operations in Iraq has been avoided is truly remarkable. Candidates are content to talk in broad strokes, focusing more on past actions than on future plans. The striking divergence between political rhetoric and ground truth led Michael Gordon, of Cobra II fame, to remark:

For the past year, I have led a double existence, dividing my time between military reporting assignments in Iraq and tracking the campaign debate in the United States...Those were parallel universes, in which the discussion of the taxing road ahead and potential fall-back options were often so divergent that the generals and the politicians seemed not to be talking about the same war.

And it may sound odd to hear this, but I'm OK with that. The hard reality is, absent a total cutoff of funds by Congress or a full mobilization by the President, decisions that are made by local leaders in places like Kirkuk, Diyala, and Ramadi are far more likely to have a decisive impact on the success or failure of continuing operations than any choice made by the occupants of either Capitol Hill or the White House.

But there is one related question, closely related to our trials and tribulations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that I am anxiously waiting to hear a candidate answer, sooner rather than later. That question is simply, What's Next?

More than any other event in recent history, our operations in these two countries gave us a hard lesson in just how difficult it is to conduct regime change and rebuild a nation in the 21st century. To some extent, we were lulled by our relative (and bloodless, at least for our folks) successes in Bosnia and Kosovo. We allowed ourselves to believe in the idea that our ideals and image were powerful enough to change the world all by themselves.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,160447,00.html?wh=wh

[Rhiannon12866]

1. They're discussing this with Nancy Pelosi just now on "Morning Joe."

He asked a very good question: why isn't Congress acting on cutting off funding?:shrug:

And I agree that the candidates are avoiding this issue, the most pressing and important in this campaign. The Republicans are arguing about who interprets the Bible more literally and the Democrats are arguing among each other. All the more reason to include Dennis!:grr:

[patrioticintellect]

2. How serious are you, Ray?

<----I'm still fighting for the American people. I've got two big weeks ahead of me. And with your help and the help of others, we can challenge the weaknesses of the other Democratic candidates who too many are taking at face value.