Amidst all the recent talk of September being the key month in Iraq (no really, we mean it this time), today's David Ignatius column spells out pretty much what everyone living in reality already knows: there will be no withdrawal from Iraq during the Bush presidency.
Overall, today's Ignatius piece is about Darth Cheney's trip to visit his bosom buddies, the Saudis. While our Secretary of State may, on paper, be the person charged with meeting with our foreign allies, the real policies are made by the (vice) President.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may make the headlines with her high-profile diplomatic missions to the Middle East. But for a glimpse at the hidden power plays, follow Vice President Cheney's trip this week to Saudi Arabia.
Now, that is not news. We all know who makes policy in this White House, whether it is energy, foreign, or baby-eating.
No, what was newsworthy was tucked into the bottom of Ignatius' column. Considering yesterday was the official kick-off of the new GOP "We're out of there if flowers aren't being thrown in September" campaign, this matter of fact paragraph hits like a ton of bricks.
The ferment in the region is driven partly by the perception that U.S. troops are on the way out, no matter what the Bush administration says. To dampen such speculation, Bush is said to have told the Saudis that America will not withdraw from Iraq during his presidency. "That gives us 18 months to plan," said one Saudi source.
They can't make it clearer: WE ARE NOT LEAVING IRAQ UNDER THIS PRESIDENT.
We can spin all the fairy tales we like about this next Friedman Unit being the last straw, but as long as George Bush resides in the White House, our troops are going to continue to pound sand.
At some point, you would think the rest of the reality-based world would cotton to the fact that the Chimperor simply will not, under any circumstances deviate from his stance on the war. He is standing in teh school house door screaming "Iraq Forever", and nothing is going to change that.
Democrats in Congress, the Presidential candidates and everyone who cares about ending this war need to stop pretending that there is a negotiation going on and get down to de-funding this thing once and for all. At some point, the political concerns of 2008 and beyond are trumped by the fact that we are deploying 35,000 more troops to send into this death trap.
No more blood for this clown of a president and his evil minions. Send another war funding bill with mandatory withdrawal dates and let the chips fall where they may.