DUBYA'S PLAN TO WIN
NEW YORK POST
Editorial
December 1, 2005
President Bush yesterday traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapo lis to assert that America's overrid ing goal in the war in Iraq is — victory.
That's a strange declaration to be making 33 months after U.S. tanks first rolled into Iraq — but it was timely, necessary and more than welcome.
Indeed, the White House billed the address as the first of a series that, taken together, will provide a comprehensive restatement of America's objectives in Iraq and the broader War on Terror.
"This war is going to take many turns," the president
said. "And the enemy must be defeated on every
battlefield. Yet the terrorists have made it clear that
Iraq is the central front in their war against humanity.
And so we must recognize Iraq as the central front in the
War on Terror."
That, succinctly, describes the stakes.
Also made public yesterday was the White House's "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" — an unclassified version of longstanding official policy.
It's at the whitehouse.gov Web site — and well worth reading.
whitehouse.gov
Taken together, the address and strategy summary present an optimistic view of the state of affairs in Iraq.
"At this time last year, there were only a handful of
Iraqi battalions ready for combat," said Bush. "Now there
are over 120 Iraqi army and police combat battalions in
the fight . . ."
"Of these, about 80 Iraqi battalions are fighting side by
side with Coalition forces, and about 40 others are
taking the lead . . . Most of these 40 battalions are
controlling their own battlespace, [and] conducting their
own operations . . ."
Thus are Iraqis "standing up" — hastening the day when American forces can "stand down," Bush said.
But all things in due time.
"Setting an artificial deadline to withdraw would send a
message across the world that America is weak and an
unreliable ally. . . . would send a signal to our enemies
that if they wait long enough, America will cut and
run . . . . [this] would vindicate the terrorist[s']
tactics . . . and invite new attacks on America."
Bush restated his view on troop levels: They are dependent on the needs of the mission and the commanders in the field:
"We've increased our force levels in Iraq to 160,000, up
from 137,000, in preparation for the December elections."
What happens after that, of course, will be determined by events.
Meanwhile, Bush is taking the debate to his political adversaries:
"Some critics continue to assert that we have no plan in
Iraq except to 'stay the course,' " Bush said.
"If by 'stay the course' they mean we will not allow the
terrorists to break our will, they're right," he
said. "If by 'stay the course' they mean we will not
permit al Qaeda to turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was
under the Taliban, a safe haven for terrorists and a
launching pad for attacks on America, they're right as
well. If by "stay the course" they mean that we're not
learning from our experiences, or adjusting our tactics
to meet the challenges on the ground, then they're flat
wrong."
Sounds good to us.
We'll be listening closely as the president continues to lay out his case.
So will the enemy, we're sure.
nypost.com
