Editorial – Editorial – Talking Sense on Iraq – Editorial – NYTimes.com
Excerpts:
[T]here has been precious little detailed discussion of [the biggest foreign policy challenges awaiting the next president] on the campaign trail.Until this week, when Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, offered a sensible and comprehensive blueprint for dealing with the mess that President Bush created by bungling the war of necessity against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, which could have made Americans safer, and starting a war of choice in Iraq, which made the world more insecure.
…Mr. Obama has a better grasp of the big picture, despite Mr. McCain’s claim to more foreign policy experience.
…Mr. Obama said he would withdraw combat forces from Iraq by 2010, shift at least 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan that could be leveraged to persuade NATO allies to also increase their numbers, send more nonmilitary aid to Afghanistan and build a stronger Afghanistan-Pakistan-NATO partnership on the lawless border. He also promised an extra $2 billion as part of an international effort to deal with more than four million displaced Iraqis — a crisis that the Bush administration has unconscionably ignored.
…After arguing that no additional forces were needed, Mr. McCain reversed course on Tuesday and endorsed sending 15,000 more troops to Afghanistan. But he seemed confused about whether they would be American forces drawn from Iraq or an American-NATO mix, leaving us wondering how well formed his ideas are.
…And it was distressing to hear Mr. McCain still talking about “winning” the war in Iraq and adopting the tedious tactic of accusing Mr. Obama of “giving up” when he talks about a careful withdrawal of troops.
…[Obama] pointed out that the military cannot sustain Mr. Bush’s troop surge. “True success will take place when we leave Iraq to a government that is taking responsibility for its future,” he said.
The United States cannot just turn its back on Iraq, but that is not remotely what Mr. Obama is suggesting. He proposed keeping a residual force in Iraq for specific missions like fighting Al Qaeda. He also wisely asserted he will make tactical adjustments as needed.
The more the United States insists it will not even consider withdrawal, the less incentive Iraqis have to settle their political differences. Iraq’s leaders have asked for a withdrawal timetable. The next president needs to take them at their word.
AMEN.
