January 21, 2005

Whoever is the President next January will have to deal with the Iraq situation. Whether or not you think it's a failure, a success, worthwhile, a quagmire, or the most noble endeavor the United States has ever undertaken, the President of the United States will have to conduct some sort of policy.

We know what George Bush will do. He will continue to rebuild schools, roads, electrical facilities, water infrastructure, and hospitals. He will help Iraqis have free and fair elections. He will help them write their very own Constitution. He will continue to train and equip the Iraqi army.

What will John Kerry do? Throw up his arms and say that he's found "Lebanon" and declare the situation hopeless? Declare a stalemate and withdraw immediately? The sad truth is that we have no idea what his "plan" is. Campaign rhetoric is nice, but I hope people think long and hard about this. If Kerry wins, he won't have the luxury of criticizing President Bush's policy anymore. He will have to devise and execute his own, and after 20 years in the US Senate, he apparently has nary a clue about how to deal with the "new" Iraq.