 |
|
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
May 4, 2007
/ 16 Iyar 5767
Honesty is best policy: Pols' lip service smacks of insincerity
By
Michael Goodwin
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Now that President Bush and Democrats have taken turns grandstanding over his veto of their troop withdrawal bill, it's time for a bipartisan burst of honesty. Instead of haggling for political advantage, Bush and members of Congress should both confess that they have not been straight about the future in Iraq.
The president's promise to "complete the mission" is a triumph of a tired slogan over reality, just as the Dems' pledge to "end the war" is riddled with loopholes. It's time to cut the bull and be realistic about where we're going.
Start with Bush. While he blasted Dems again Tuesday for demanding the start of troop withdrawal by Oct. 1 as a recipe for chaos, he has quietly accepted a de-facto deadline set by his own commander that is not much different. Gen. David Petraeus said last week that he would decide in September whether the surge of added troops was working. Implicit in the commitment, which includes a public report to Congress, is that a lack of progress would doom the plan. While it's not clear what Plan B is, it is certain the surge must pay dividends to continue past the fall.
"We think that's the appropriate time to make it," Petraeus said of his review. "It will be a time at which we will have had our additional forces on the ground for several months, all of them operating in the areas in which we intend to deploy them."
If that isn't a deadline, I don't know what it is.
And Petraeus warned he would not be an easy grader. He will scrutinize everything from gains in the Iraqi army to progress on sharing oil revenues.
"Success, in the end, will depend on Iraqi actions," Petraeus said. "We can provide the Iraqis an opportunity, but they will have to exploit it."
Yet even if the surge fails, Democrats will not be delivering on their pledge to fully end the war. Party leaders, and especially the gaggle of senators running for president, have made fanciful promises that sound as though the break would be instant, clean and complete. Sen. Hillary Clinton, for example, said that, if Bush doesn't end the war, "As president, I will."
Ah, that depends on how you define "end." Clinton, like Sen. Barack Obama, voted for the withdrawal legislation, which includes four exceptions that could keep tens of thousands of troops in Iraq indefinitely.
Troops could remain for purposes of " (1) Protecting American diplomatic facilities and American citizens, including members of the U.S. armed forces. (2) Serving in roles consistent with customary diplomatic positions. (3) Engaging in targeted special actions limited in duration and scope to killing or capturing members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations with global reach. (4) Training and equipping members of the Iraqi security forces."
Those are worthwhile commitments, but they are huge, especially when you add in support personnel. A major in the Marine Reserves, writing in The New York Times, said those functions would need 75,000 U.S. troops. It's noteworthy that neither Clinton nor Obama has made a habit of citing their support for such numbers on the campaign trail.
At 75,000 strong, our force would be about half of what we have now, but still a long way from ending the war. Indeed, The Times' author, Owen West, who has served two tours in Iraq, predicted that the 75,000 would be in Iraq at least until the fall of 2008.
That is when Americans will elect our next president. Surely by then somebody will be forced to tell us the truth about Iraq.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2006 NY Daily News Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
|
