At Last, a War Strategy

Dallas Morning News | Editorials:

"In fact, with congressional elections on the horizon, Mr. Bush could well face a virtual revolt on Capitol Hill unless there are signs that the American people not only accept that he has a strategy but also that it is working to stem the casualties. If the people and Congress decide that the only way to do that is to get out of Iraq, Mr. Bush will be hard-pressed to retain his garments. Because, in our system, where someone other than the guy at the top controls the purse strings, the emperor can suddenly find his closet bare."

The President's position is not so much a war strategy, that is, a plan for how to prosecute the war, as it is an outline of the conditions for leaving the war. Because none of the conditions have defined benchmarks, the President is free at any time to declare victory and begin the long, gradual troop reduction.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is already speculating on troop withdrawals beginning in 2006. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says that troop levels will be determined by the military commanders, giving him cover from possible charges of retreat. Vice President Cheney began running this game plan last Spring already, when he confidently reported that the insurgency was in its "last throes." He was too early and the insurgents didn't cooperate, but expect him to try this line again in Spring, 2006.

So, there won't be any showdown on Capitol Hill between Congress and the White House. The troops will begin to come home. Remaining troops will move into a support role. The Shiites will be given more latitude to suppress the Sunnis. The Administration will portray this as Iraqis taking the lead in the war on terror, not as a worsening civil war. So long as the White House can announce, every so often, another drawdown of troops, Congress and the American people will be appeased.

In short, the President didn't announce a war strategy so much as a political strategy. Now, if the insurgents just cooperate and provide a decent interval for the Americans to depart, Bush can have his victory and the insurgents can eventually have their country. And everyone else can argue for a generation whether it was worth it.