kolmapäev, aprill 07, 2004
Deadlines
Does anyone really think that the June 30 deadline was ever anything but arbitrary? Do you think Bush sat down, contemplated the situation, did various complex calculations, spoke to numerous experts, then determined that the exact moment the Iraqi people would be ready to handle their own government would be around 10 am on June 30? Of course it's arbitrary. I'd be shocked if anyone could seriously claim it isn't. That said, William Cohen is right that setting some sort of deadline was a good thing and we do now have to stick with it. Otherwise, we will look like we're caving under pressure from the insurgents and we can't control the country. Of course, we can't control the country, but there's a huge risk involved with admitting that. But let's not pretend that June 30 was chosen for any reason other than the hope that it would lead to Iraqi elections before November and it would deflate the buzz around the Democratic convention.
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Does anyone really think that the June 30 deadline was ever anything but arbitrary? Do you think Bush sat down, contemplated the situation, did various complex calculations, spoke to numerous experts, then determined that the exact moment the Iraqi people would be ready to handle their own government would be around 10 am on June 30? Of course it's arbitrary. I'd be shocked if anyone could seriously claim it isn't. That said, William Cohen is right that setting some sort of deadline was a good thing and we do now have to stick with it. Otherwise, we will look like we're caving under pressure from the insurgents and we can't control the country. Of course, we can't control the country, but there's a huge risk involved with admitting that. But let's not pretend that June 30 was chosen for any reason other than the hope that it would lead to Iraqi elections before November and it would deflate the buzz around the Democratic convention.
