All Posts Tagged With: "Bushs"

George Bush has a last-minute opportunity to really polish his legacy. Instead of leaving office with an approval rating slightly below taint, he has the chance to move up in the presidential rankings, perhaps as high as Millard Fillmore. All he has to do is get his head out of his past and smell the roses.

The war in Iraq as we’ve come to know it is over. It looks like we “won.”

I put “won” in quotes not out of disrespect for our military or because I secretly hoped we’d lose, like some folks did who pretended to be antiwar but were actually anti-American, but because I’m not sure what we won.

Saddam and his evil spawn are dead, and that’s a good thing for Iraq. But it doesn’t count for much with us. There are lots of dictators just as bad, thriving with our benevolent neglect, all over the world.

Iraq sure didn’t help our deterrence in the war on terror. We’ve nearly eliminated Al Qaeda from that country—once our post-invasion chaos invited them in—and if Iraq manages not to become a failed state it won’t be a haven for terrorists. But in the meantime the terrorists have taken all of Gaza, half of Lebanon, a good chunk of Pakistan and the poppy fields of Afghanistan.

We were hated in the Middle East before the war in Iraq, we’re hated in the Middle East now. If the war was about oil, then oil won, not us. If the Iraqis want to show their appreciation, they can give us Kirkuk. And by “us” I don’t mean Richard Perle.

Still, the good news is that our war there is over, if only GWB will see it. There are only two possibilities: either the insurgency is crushed, or we’re just in a lull.

If the insurgency is truly broken, then we’ve won and the Iraqis can do the mop-up on their own. If we’re just in a lull then the surge didn’t work and never will because the surge is over. Either way, our choice of action is clear.

Get out. Get out now, while the getting’s good. Don’t wait for the election and let the glory go to your successor, Georgie. Do it yourself! You have a chance that Richard Nixon would have killed for and LBJ died for—you can declare victory and get out.

There is no need to panic, withdrawal is going to take a year or more and that should be enough. Violence dropped by three-quarters in the last year, the Iraqis and our rear guard should be able to tamp down the remaining 25% before the last American soldier says good bye and good luck. Withdrawal is a process, but the kudos go to the guy who starts it.

That guy can be you, George W Bush. This is heartfelt advice from someone who would really like to see you do the right thing, the smart thing. I know you’re not used to good advice and if you’ve ever been given smart advice it doesn’t show, but that can change, right here, right now. Make just one, tiny speech:

“My fellow Americans, we won the war. I am commencing the withdrawal of our armed forces immediately at the rate of one brigade a month. Our last troops will be home in time to celebrate Christmas 2009 with their families. Mission accomplished, and this time I mean it.”

Say that, Mr. Bush, and watch your legacy shine. Hell, say that and I’ll come to Crawford and polish it myself.