Posted on: Friday, June 17, 2005

EDITORIAL
It's time for Bush to get real on Iraq

Later this month, President Bush is scheduled to give a major address on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the day when Iraq gained transitional domestic authority.

The administration says the president will focus on gains that have been made during that year and, in the words of spokesman Scott McClellan, "our strategy for victory in Iraq."

That should make for an interesting speech because to date, there has been little evidence of a coherent victory strategy, or "exit strategy" if you will.

Rather, it has been a series of often ad hoc actions focused on the vague goal of bringing peace and democracy to Iraq and the Middle East.

Those are laudable goals. But what Americans want now are specifics on how those goals can be achieved.

Already, public opinion polls show a majority of Americans say it wasn't worth going to war in Iraq, and a substantial number say it is time to withdraw some or all of the troops.

Opposition is likely to grow if the death toll continues to rise against a backdrop of unfocused and uncertain policy.

Indeed, a bipartisan resolution has already been introduced in the U.S. House asking that Bush begin pulling our troops out no later than October 2006.

The resolution was authored by Republican Rep. Walter Jones, an early war hawk and supporter of the Iraq invasion. It is co-signed by, among others, Hawai'i Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

Abercrombie's office acknowledges the resolution is mostly symbolic at this point. But that could change if the tide of public opinion continues to grow against the war and our continued occupation of Iraq.

That's why the next move is up to Bush.

Continuing on the present path adds to a growing death toll and resentment against the United States in the Muslim world and increasing opportunities for jihadists of every stripe.

But a pullout plan with a timeline is not the answer. It would merely give comfort to those who are battling democracy and the rule of law in Iraq; it would raise questions about American steadfastness and reliability, and it would set into motion almost certain civil war once the last helicopter lifts off.

What's needed is not so much an exit date as an exit strategy that tells the American people and the world with some specifics what we expect to accomplish on this road to peace and democracy and when we expect that to happen.

The president's June 28 speech seems to be an ideal time to do just that.