Winning In Iraq

In a press conference today, presidential mouthpiece Tony Snow touched on the point we have all been hammering away at.  

At his daily briefing today at the White House, Press Secretary Tony Snow fielded a barrage of questions related to the recent upsurge in U.S. deaths in Iraq and worries that the Iraqi government is failing to stem the tide of violence. Suddenly one reporter put the issue squarely: "Sorry. Just the simple question: Are we winning?"

Snow punted.

"We're making progress," he replied. "I don't know. How do you define `winning'?

Exactly.

That is what we, the citizens who are paying in blood, treasure, and missed opportunities want to know.  And perhaps you, as the spokesperson of the man whose war this so completely is can explain it to us.

It's simple.  How will we know victory--how will we know winning--when we see it?  What physical reality will it assume?

Not some arguable state of the president's mind or the minds of his aides ("when we believe that the Iraqis are secure and able to stand, then we will be prepared to move,") or an airy abstraction, open to scores of possible definitions ("an Iraq that is safe, secure, and an ally in the war on terror").

But some tangible quality of the situation.  Something everyone will recognize, because it is an objective condition.

In other words, do you have any idea of what you're doing?