President Bush’s “way forward” in Iraq – the addition of 21,500 U.S. troops, $1 billion in new economic aid and a demand for political and security progress by the Iraqis – is a road paved with little more than wishful thinking.
Apparently, that’s all that’s left for a president who has no realistic chance to fix a disaster of his own making.
Injecting another 17,000 troops into Baghdad will mean more U.S. casualties as fierce urban warfare escalates. In his address to the nation Wednesday, Bush warned Americans to expect that. His hope is to stem sectarian and insurgent attacks and give the Iraqi government enough “breathing room” to finally agree on how to share power and distribute oil revenue among the country’s ethnic groups.
If Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki’s government still fails to make significant progress, Bush warned, “it will lose the support of the American people.” Uh, Mr. President, that happened a long time ago. Did you notice the results of the November elections?
While it was refreshing to finally hear the president say that the U.S. commitment to Iraq is not open-ended, his continued refusal to give the Iraqis firm deadlines with tangible consequences if they’re not met leaves too much room for foot-dragging.
The divide between majority Shiites and Sunnis who used to control the country under Saddam Hussein is deep. Without firm and quick action by Iraqi leaders – something they have yet to show – it’s hard to see how a political solution can be forged in the coming months.
Vexing roadblocks stand in the way. Al-Maliki, a Shiite, is essentially being told by Bush that he must crush the fast-growing Mahdi Army, a militia controlled by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, to whom al-Maliki owes his election. Some U.S. intelligence officials reportedly believe al-Sadr’s militia now has about 60,000 fighters. If he chooses to fight rather than work toward a political compromise, the war could get bloodier than ever.
There’s little Congress can do in the short term to keep the president from implementing his new plan. But Democrats and the growing number of congressional Republicans who oppose this escalation of the war must hold Bush’s feet to the fire, demanding results and accountability. Every move in Iraq must be scrutinized, every added expenditure debated.
U.S. troops mustn’t be deprived of what they need to protect themselves, but neither should be president be given the blank check he still seems willing to give the Iraqis.
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