upport for a war by the American public depends on whether we think it will succeed. If the public senses that we cannot succeed then casualties on the battle field matter a great deal. The public needs more than rousing speeches by the president to believe in eventual victory. In his most recent address to the nation, President Bush used the word "Victory" about a dozen times and referred to "complete Victory." What does that mean and how will we know when it has been achieved? There are many of us who wonder if, when we leave Iraq, possibly years after Mr. Bush has left the White House, whether it will be a safer, better country. The Christian Science Monitor pointed out that in W's address on the training of Iraqi forces he used the word "Victory" 15 times. There is a growing consensus in Congress that this White House must more clearly define what constitutes victory. It is a powerful word and this administration may have set themselves a dauntingly high goal.
When the president recently addressed the Council on Foreign Relations he repeated "We will accept nothing less than complete victory." He said that U.S. victory will be achieved when Saddamists and terrorists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, and when Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists to plot against the U.S. If what we are told by the administration doesn't match what's happening on the ground, then the rhetoric will not be accepted.
Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rove, Rumsfeld and most of their high-ranking administration colleagues have no first-hand experience of warfare and the messy business of the termination of military hostilities.
They got us into this war and the president has, on many occasions, referred to himself as "the war president." Maybe he'll find a way to be "the peace president." Two thousand two hundred fatalities and growing. Fifteen thousand and more wounded. Whether one aggress with Rep. John Murtha's call for the with the withdrawal of US troops in Iraq or not, he has roiled both parties on the war and intensified a debate that is soon going to be beyond the ability of the party leaders to control.