'Cut and Run' is their rejoinder to any debate or an attempt to deviate from 'Stay the Course'. Those who want to reject this false dichotomy or, more importantly, have an intelligent discussion on our nation's choices have not fared well. 'Cut and Run' plays into the oldie, but apparently goodie, "Democrats are weak on defense" meme.
To my mind we can only hope to establish an effective exit strategy if we know why we went in. What did we hope to accomplish? Only by knowing our motivation(s) can we establish a metric for when we can stand down. So why did we go to war? Well here is an analysis of the spoken words of the architects of this conflict.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/...
OK, so how do we frame our response? Why won't this assministration and the rubber stamp Congress consider getting out sooner rather than later? What is the metric we will use to determine when we can leave? Why do they insist that our troops will stand down ONLY when the Iraq army stands up? Why must we stay? Why are we building permanent military bases there? Why is the US building in Baghdad the most expensive, best-built embassy of any in the world? Why have we spent almost half a trillion dollars on this fubar?
It's the oil, stupid.
Most of us believe that Dubya went to war in Iraq primarily because others (Neo-cons, oil execs, Cheney, etc.) had decided, years before, that the USA needed a more established presence in the Mideast, preferably in a country with plenty of oil. For whatever reason this administration's slippery casus belli was never fully investigated or pushed by the media.
Here is our chance to bring all that is now known about the underpinnings to the run-up to Shock and Awe. Folks, it was never about WMD, or Al-Qaeda, or spreading democracy. There are others in the Kos community more knowledgeable than I who can establish the narrative for an effective story. Here is one stunning example of their duplicity.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
It's the oil, stupid.
This means we will NEVER stand down. This means we only want a puppet regime, not a true democracy, because we need to control the black gold. We are NEVER leaving Iraq as long as Texas Tea fills the oil company's coffers and cups.
Time to resurrect and push the narrative about how oil was the fuel for this distraction from the War on Terra. This is why we took our eye off the important targets Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden, Homeland security, etc. This is why the administration doesn't want to 'Cut and Run'. They don't want to lose control of the derricks and gushers. It doesn't matter that Iraqi oil production is down now, as long as we control it in the future, hell it will be worth even more.
The metric is not purple fingers, or election of a prime minister or parliaments. The metric is not the establishment of a secular constitution or a trustworthy police force. The metric is not a fully functioning democratic society. The metric is not even jobs, water, food or electricity. The metric is barrels and who controls them.
It's the oil stupid.