"Martial Dreams"

Paul Krugman analyzes Tuesday's pep talk:

Mr. Bush's speech on Tuesday contained a chilling message: America has been taken hostage by his martial dreams. According to Mr. Bush, the nation now has no choice except to keep fighting the war he wanted to fight.

Never mind that Iraq posed no threat before we invaded. Now it's a "central front in the war on terror," Mr. Bush says, quoting Osama bin Laden as an authority. And since a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would, Mr. Bush claims, be a victory for Al Qaeda, Americans have to support this war - and that means supporting him. After all, you wage war with the president you have, not the president you want.

But America doesn't have to let itself be taken hostage. The country missed the chance to say no before this war started, but it can still say no to Mr. Bush's open-ended commitment, and demand a timetable for getting out.

No shit. He notes that this isn't easy--particularly when a fat little Roveweiler sits in his pen waiting--hoping, even--for the chance to bark and bare his teeth at anyone suggesting as much. But, Krugman's right:

First, the war is helping, not hurting, the terrorists. Second, the kind of clear victory the hawks promised is no longer possible, if it ever was. Third, a time limit on our commitment will do more good than harm.

He goes on to argue that, despite Shrub's insistance that a timetable would "encourage" the insurgents to "wait us out" (easy for him to say--neither ne nor his eligible-for-military-service children are dodging bullets, RPG's, or IED's)--anyway, Krugman asserts that insurgents don't exactly need encouragement, and goes on to point out that as long as US forces are there to do the heavy lifting, the nascent Iraqi government has little incentive to counter--or, negotiate with--said insurgents.

He concludes:

The point is that the presence of American forces in Iraq is making our country less safe. So it's time to start winding down the war.

Fair enough--and true enough. However, the one small problem with this argument is that, with the cabal holding on to Washington these days, patriotism is fine so long as it DOESN'T interfere with power. And, if one has to go...