It appears that President Bush’s strategy in Iraq has changed from “stay the course,” to simply “stay.”
Bush said Tuesday that troops will remain in Iraq past his presidency. It will be up to a successor to finally bring our soldiers out of Iraq. With that, he added, “I’m optimistic we’ll succeed. If not, I’d pull our troops out.”
It sounds like reverse logic. If we’re successful, we should be able to pull out our troops, confident that we’ve stabilized the country and established democracy.
Failure to us means we have to stay and try to control the mess we’ve made. Bush says we’re staying. It’s a far cry from those heady days upon an aircraft carrier in which he declared victory in Iraq.
It’s also a far cry from the years that Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted that the United States was making great progress in Iraq.
As we see it, the situation in Iraq has grown steadily worse. It is dire.
More than 1,000 Iraqis have died in secular violence sparked since the bombing a month ago of a Shiite Muslim shrine. Bodies are discovered by the busload.
Many military analysts assert that Iraq is embroiled in a civil war. According to a recent poll, 80 percent of Americans consider Iraqi civil war inevitable, including 70 percent of polled Republicans.
Bush says Iraq isn’t in a civil war, disagreeing with Iraq’s former interim prime minister, who says it is.
Whatever one calls it, violence in Iraq has claimed the lives of 2,300 American troops and still requires the presence of 133,000 U.S. soldiers.
Bush appears more and more isolated as more and more Republicans fall away. He swats away pleas from his party compatriots to shake up his staff.
The din will grow louder as mid-term elections near and Republican incumbents distance themselves from the unpopular president.
Regardless of how our war with Iraq plays within Washington politics, the truth is settling in that we’re in Iraq to stay indefinitely.
How sad for us. How sad for the troops fighting for their lives. How sad for their families who are awash in worry and fear.
Editorials
War in Iraq far from over
- Editorials
-
-
Editorial: Get permission before school pranks
Anderson High School decided to show some solidarity with their Cascade peers and filled up the school with post-it notes, all in good fun. This prank was also done after hours but with a big difference: The students had requested and received permission to imitate Cascade.
-
You Said It: About fundraiser, missing woman, building preservation
Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin publishes “You Said It,” a compilation of reader comments from www.theheraldbulletin.com.
-
Editorial: Memorial Day helps put face on wounded warriors
This is the perfect weekend to thank a veteran, an active duty service member or a wounded warrior for his or her service. Our positive, encouraging response goes a long way in defining our society.
-
Editorial: Honor those who fought, and celebrate our freedom
This weekend, keep in mind the reason for Memorial Day — to remember those who have been so important in our lives, especially those who made the supreme sacrifice in military service.
-
Editorial: Governor candidates offer conservatism, moderation
The jockeying for position has begun in what is basically a two-horse gubernatorial race. Each offers voters a legitimate option. The November outcome may offer a simple referendum on the mindset of voters: Are they most persuaded by Mike Pence’s conservatism or by John Gregg’s moderation?
-
Editorial: Keep up the chorus against the landfill
Occupy Anderson has joined the ever-growing chorus against the proposed Mallard Lake landfill. Sam Mudd, a member of Occupy, is taking his studies on how the landfill might pollute Anderson’s water to areas of the county to drum up support against the landfill.
-
Editorial: Find a buyer for former school or tear it down
If a buyer wants the former Pendleton Heights Middle School, fine, but put no more taxpayer money into it.
-
Editorial: Libraries must adapt to serve communities
Certainly, the Friends of the Anderson Public Library needs space to store and sell used books, records, DVDs and other material. But library supporters and staff must be flexible in this ever-changing world to keep public facilities relevant.
-
You Said It: About Walking Men, the Queen of Disco and settled lawsuits
Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin publishes “You Said It,” a compilation of reader comments from www.theheraldbulletin.com.
-
Editorial: Ockomon-Spencer saga hurt city's reputation
Wednesday, May 16, was a sad day for Anderson taxpayers forced to pay a $128,000 bill that ends a saga that never should have started
- More Editorials Headlines
-
