Allow me to convince you.
Above is a link to a New York Times Editorial that spells out some interesting aspects of the proposal to withdraw troops by 2008.
We all know that George Walker Bush, Richard Cheney, Colin Powell, Condi Rice and the rest of the mess that lines the halls of the Senate and House called Republicans entered an illegal war.
Without a doubt, the loss of American lives in this travesty is outrageous and should never be rewarded. My apologies to Cindy Sheehan and every Gold Star Family that finds themselves with that status unwillingly and in grossly unpatriotic status due to the illegality of the Iraq War. No one feels worse than I do about the circumstances their valiant young people died under. I promise you that.
Now.
The 'benchmarks' set by the Democratic majority by vote alone was actually in response to the priorities set by Bush as Commander and Chief of our armed forces. They reflect every objective of this failed and corrupt president. It will be no time before the benchmarks will prevail and the soldiers will be home.
The one 'absolute' benchmark failure is the demand for the succes of Iraq's Unity without the 'partitioning' of ethnic provinces in the Iraqi Constitution. When the violence continued in Iraq, the Unity Government included in it's constitution, a constitution Bush encouraged voting for, an amendment. That amendment includes provincial authority of three ethnic areas of Iraq. It is correct and appropriate. It also sets up the wealth of the Iraqi treasury to be divided into portions to reflect the populations of each provincial authority.
I am not saying this is an attempt by the Democrats to sabotage the war initiative by Bush. Not at all. They aren't that clever. But, in blind obedience to the directives of the Commander and Chief in seeking 'an end' to the USA involvement to the war in Iraq, the Democrats have attempted to include all the directive Bush states needs to be achieved. The primary difference is that the Democratic Benchmarks DEMAND performance by the Iraqi government otherwise the troops leave. Bush sees an open ended war that never ends even though the 'status' of the war is grossly illegal.
The point is, the 'benchmarks' are an attempt to say to the Iraqi government to get their act together no matter what form it takes. If the Iraqi people want three autonomous provinces under the 'umbrella' of a Unity Government then they have it, but, that excludes our military from a presence there. Basically, the benchmarks end the neverending war of Iraq. The benchmarks will survive the 'negotiations' with the Senate Bill and will ultimately prevail in relieving this country of it's lack of national security, an escalation in terrorist networks globally and stop the confrontation of Iran.
I sincerely believe every word written here. I have a wish. That wish is to empower the Gold Star Families adversely effected by this president. Organize as a political entity and start to build constituency and expertise for your own candidates. The future of the security of the USA counts on it and it will insure a voice that will permanently resonate over generations. I realize there are Iraq War Veterans that have run for office and that is all fine and good, but, the civilian perspective in the way of candidates need empowerment as well.
Good Luck.
