Aiding and Abetting the Terrorists

George W. Bush.

President Bush vowed for the first time yesterday to turn over most of Iraq to newly trained Iraqi troops by the end of this year, setting a specific benchmark as he kicked off a fresh drive to reassure Americans alarmed by the recent burst of sectarian violence.

I think the outcome of this disasterous policy will soon become clear - terrorists will become emboldened by the announcement of withdrawal, and the number and severity of their attacks will only increase. Thank you, George W. Bush, for siding with the terrorists against America. What's even funnier - sadder - is this:

Bush, who until now has resisted concrete timelines as the Iraq war dragged on longer than he expected, outlined the target in the first of a series of speeches intended to lay out his strategy for victory. While acknowledging grim developments on the ground, Bush declared "real progress" in standing up Iraqi forces capable of defending their nation.

Let's discuss the less mind-numbing statement first. Real progress? Well, in terms of body count, yes, there has been great progress. What progress? We know the battalions are a far cry from anything remotely effective, even if their numbers have slightly grown. There has been no progress in terms of restoring electricity, water, and order.

Now onto the statement that makes you feel like someone detonated a nuke inside of your skull. Strategy for victory. What the hell could this possibly be. It sure isn't make the world safer by finding and destroying WMDs. It sure isn't set up a viable Democracy. It sure isn't destroy terrorists. At this point Bush is going to call whatever he does a victory. "Well, we didn't lose everyone, so it must be a success. And if we lose everyone, then it will be a noble sacrifice to take more of the enemy down." The Iraq War has only been a victory for profiteering contractors. Everyone else has lost. The only thing Bush's strategy for victory could be is a face-saving way - with the American media, he won't even have to try - to leave Iraq. That is disgusting. But wait, it gets even better, and the WaPo lets Bush get away with it:

But Bush said he saw hope in the fact that the country has not fallen into civil war, as some had forecast. "The Iraqi people made their choice," he said. "They looked into the abyss and did not like what they saw."

Pretty ridiculous, especially when you consider that the next article on the Post's website opens with:

The gruesome civilian body count continued Tuesday with police discovering a total of 56 dead in and around Baghdad, many of them bearing the marks of torture and execution.

Authorities took the killings to be a continuation of the sectarian killings that have shaken the country since the Feb. 22 bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra.

Three years ago the line to beat into people's heads was "Iraq has no WMDs." Today it is "Iraq has descended into civil war." That is the reality of the situation. George W. Bush has no grip on reality.