They also reminded me of two guys standing waist-deep in a septic tank, grimly shoveling sh*t and explaining how they hoped they could shovel it out faster than new crap was coming in. They preferred not to speculate about what was wrong with the tank or how it got that way; their job was to shovel it out. They did not know how long it would take or how much it would cost, but they did believe the level of waste was going down slightly.
Which begs the question: how long should they shovel before we give up on the mess?
Do we have a moral obligation to leave Iraq better off than we found it? Certainly Colin Powell was right when he told George Bush the Pottery Barn Rule: "If you break it, you buy it." If it turns out that's not Pottery Barn's rule after all -- it isn't -- does that mean we can abandon Iraq to the ethnic, sectarian and criminal bedlam we've unleashed?
On the other hand, we cannot remain there indefinitely. The American people simply will not tolerate it. Repatriated Texan Matthew Dowd has written an elegant and thoughtful essay for the Huffington Post in which he lays out the mood of the populace:
1. In the public's mind, the Iraq War was a mistake, and continuing the status quo is simply continuing on with a mistake...
2. The public does not see withdrawal from Iraq as a signal America doesn't support the troops...
3. The public is waiting for leaders from both political parties to stand up to the president and say enough is enough...
4. The war in Iraq is now seen exclusively as a foreign policy concern, and the American public no longer supports the initiative as part of national security...
(Hat tip to Evan Smith at State of Mine for the Dowd link and the cogent summary.)
The most interesting moment in Petraeus' testimony may have been when he was asked by Senate lion John Warner (R-VA) whether he thought our strategy in Iraq was making American safer. At first, he dodged the question and then, according to Slate's Fred Kaplan:
Warner repeated his unanswered question: "Does that make America safer?"
Petraeus said, "I don't know, actually. … I have not stepped back. … I have tried to focus on what I think a commander is supposed to do, which is to determine the best recommendations to achieve the objectives of the policy for which his mission is desired."
Kudos to Petraeus for being intellectually honest -- he didn't try the old "we're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here" canard (a self-discipline I wish Texas junior Senator and Bush-enabler John Cornyn would imitate). But you know he's gotta be wishing he'd never been asked that one.
It seems clear now that the next President -- whatever his or her party -- will inherit the War on Iraq and the Bush Quagmire.
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