What should Kerry propose we do in Iraq?

In today's WSJ there is a column by John Harwood relating the views of retired General William E. Odom, who was Reagan's NSA director, served on Carter's NSC, is a conservative and is now professor at Georgetown and Yale.  Odom believes that Iraq is irretrievable.  We cannot install a pro-US democracy, and "staying the course" will just cost us more lives and isolate us further from world opinion.  

So should Kerry propose a troop pullout?

It is probably too early for such a position,and Kerry should wait to see how the transition goes, but I believe that Odom is right, and so Kerry should lay the groundwork for taking just such a position in the summer.  

Briefly (because the Journal is subscription only), Odom opposed the war and argued that it was unlikely that Iraq could develope the bases for a constitutional democracy, such as individual rights, property rights and a tax-supported government to enforce them.  Now things are so bad that it is unlikely anyone who is pro-American can be elected.  The result of upcoming elections "will be a highly illiberal democracy, inspired by Islamic culture, extremely hostile to the West and probably quite willing . . . to fund terrorist organizations."

Kerry can begin to lay the groundwork by saying that he initially supported Bush, and gave him the benefit of the doubt, but events have shown that the Bush people had no plan for the post-war and have so botched the situation that Bush's goal is no longer achievable, assuming it ever was.  It is no longer worth the cost in American lives and treasure to continue down a path that is going nowhere, when there are such pressing needs at home and elsewhere in the world. Even if Bush won't, we need to admit that his policy was a mistake, and that to "stay" a wrong course will only damage us further.  We need call on the UN and Europeans to help reconstitute Iraq.  But Kerry needs to make it clear that we should begin to draw down our troops by summer, and withdraw completely beginning January, 2005, whether they become involved or not.  Once we have announced a date for withdrawal, perhaps the resistance will abate, perhaps not.  Perhaps others will come in, perhaps not. Meanwhile, we can do a better job of protecting our troops.

Kerry needs to beat Bush to the punch in proposing a withdrawal.  While the Bush machine will initially try to slime Kerry as a defeatist, they have to be careful, because this is really Bush's end game too.  If we are realistic, we can see that this is the right thing to do, both for the US and for Kerry.