The Denver Post has a "Duh!" moment

The editorialists at the Denver Post are shocked! shocked, I tell you, shocked! to realize that President Bush is clueless about how to get the United States out of the Iraq War! To hear them tell it, it never occurred to them until Bush had an uncharacteristic, and almost certainly unintentional, moment of candor the other day (Bush should finish what he started 03/23/06):

Perhaps the most troubling news to emerge from President Bush's latest campaign to build support for the war in Iraq is that he apparently feels there's no end in sight to American involvement. ...

The president's most startling comment came Tuesday when asked about final withdrawal during a White House news conference: "That will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."

It was a disturbing and enigmatic forecast and the first time Bush has said that he expects the burden of final withdrawal to fall to his successor.

Yes, I suppose if you've lived with your head in the sand for these last three years, it must seem "disturbing and enigmatic" to hear that this administration intends to have a long-term American military presence in Iraq.


But I guess there's something kind of charming in seeing their surprise after listening to Bush's "three-pronged strategy for success in Iraq", aka, the Tinkerbell plan, and realizing that it may just be a lot of hot air:

The president provides no detail about his vision of the future - and how he wants to get there.

If U.S. troops are still in Iraq in 2009, will a large number of them still be dodging improvised explosive devices, or will a small force be on bases, advising Iraq forces? (Similarly, it's unclear what the president meant last week when he said Iraqi forces would be responsible for "more territory" than the U.S. by the end of this year.)

And the president's larger task is to finish what he started - not to leave it to the next president or create more uncertainty for the government and people of Iraq.

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