McCain, Please Take Krauthammer's Advice

Charles Krauthammer recommends that McCain make the Iraq war the central winning plank of his campaign.

I'm sure that what this country is looking for in a time of great uncertainty at home is continued investment well beyond six years and in a foreign action that they were told could last six weeks and be relatively cheap.

In response to Obama's criticism that the Bush Administration's policy asks nothing of Iraqis, Krauthammer points to what the Iraqis have been doing.

First, this is not a refutation of Obama's criticism. While the Iraqis have made recent progress, the fact remains that this progress is coming too slowly and too late because our policies have not asked enough of them.

Second, Krauthammer's list of Iraqi accomplishments seems to me a great argument that our presence in Iraq is no longer necessary.

Krauthammer also sets up a false choice between withdrawal in defeat and staying to victory. We already won the military victory by defeating the Iraqi army and capturing Hussein. We are now in a peacekeeping role.

Krauthammer's choice of defeat and victory implies that we have some control over the outcome. We do not. A military victory is won by destroying resources, killing soldiers, and deposing the leader. Our military performs all of these tasks very effectively. These tasks are not part of the current mission. Our current mission, security and the creation of political institutions, is wholly reliant upon the contributions of Iraqis. Blowing things up and killing people won't help.

This is a choice of how best to turn control of Iraq over to the Iraqis. I think removing the incendiary American presence that delegitimizes the Maliki government creates the best conditions for a peaceful Iraq. McCain thinks Iraq is on the verge of looking like Western Europe.