Bush Squawks

"Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

-- George W. Bush, April 9, 1999

He sure didn't do that tonight.

As John Kerry said before Bush's latest "support the mission" speech:

Our mission in Iraq is harder because the administration ignored the advice of others, went in largely alone, underestimated the likelihood and power of the insurgency, sent in too few troops to secure the country, destroyed the Iraqi army through de-Baathification, failed to secure ammunition dumps, refused to recognize the urgency of training Iraqi security forces and did no postwar planning. A little humility would go a long way - coupled with a strategy to succeed.

So what should the president say tonight? The first thing he should do is tell the truth to the American people...

The president must also announce immediately that the United States will not have a permanent military presence in Iraq. Erasing suspicions that the occupation is indefinite is critical to eroding support for the insurgency...

Bush did not admit mistakes, he did not tell the truth, and he most certainly did not commit to a full withdrawal of all US forces. He never has and he never will.

What is "the mission" anyway? Wasn't it to rid Iraq of WMDs? And wasn't the mission declared "complete" when Bush came to a skidding halt on that aircraft carrier around two years ago?