Bush and Cheney go on and on about big and little al-Qaidas, evil Pashtunian Talibani Osama lovers in Pakistan, and that nasty old Iran -- and oh, the travesty of quitting this Armageddon-lite just as the Great Leader was peaking. Their earnest repetition of the latest talking points is really quite sad.
Many have written on how we might, and how we should, leave Iraq. Turns out the Bush administration has already designed a plan!
Operation Jumpstart was a limited assistance operation of the Federal Government, using mainly National Guardsmen deployed to several border states who wanted additional security. It had a clear objective, and a predefined exit strategy.
That exit strategy is being implemented now, with all of the Guardsmen to be returned home by September. The controversy is that this operation related to post-9-11 national security, was somewhat popular in the affected states, and in the opinion of some, hasn't yet completed its "mission." Many feel that the troops should stay, and continue to help, and are worried about the political message it sends to people on both sides of the border conundrum, and the political spectrum too.
Oops. I used the term "national security." Let me explain. I am referring to American national security.
Shockingly, the Bush administration has already designed and implemented a successful Iraq withdrawal model.
Let us propose an Operation Jumpstart for Iraq.
First, it has a positive, forward-looking, and masculine name. This is important in Bush country. Reflects his personality.
Second, it matches up with our little Iraqi misadventure nicely. Operation Jumpstart consisted of troops and equipment traveling to a state in need, working side by side with the state's security apparatus to improve stability and effectiveness. When it ends, as it must, the recipient state cries and moans, and claims that national security will be destroyed if the federal troops don't stay on, and boo-hoo, bad things will happen all over. Some political careers may even be at stake.
Third, it is happening fast. Despite the whining and moaning, the troops have already begun leaving, and will be home by the end of the federal fiscal year, by 30 September. What's not to like?
I understand that the Bushies and the neocons never intended to leave Iraq. But the American people have already decided they aren't playing. Americans have always known how to vote with their feet. And there aren't enough felons, or aliens desiring citizenship, to make up for the backbone of the American military -- the men and women of the South and the Midwest who recognize a bad deal when they see it.
I prefer a "puddle in the sun" type withdrawal, but I'll take any kind. Those permanent bases we built and the foundations of our white elephant of an embassy? Walk away. Or have our jets blow them up as they light their afterburners for home. The men and women in Iraq -- drive, ship and fly them out. Start now.
Yes, it would be a terrible waste of money, and lives. Welcome to Bush's Iraq, each deadly and counterproductive day of it. But I think there is some common ground between those who oppose American imperialism and those who apparently are addicted to it. This window of hope is Bush's very own Operation Jumpstart, and we really should apply it to Iraq. Immediately.