There are a couple of well known facts about this administration and the Iraq War.
1.) Things are horrible in Iraq and on the brink of Civil War as we've seen from WP and NYT stories this morning.
2.) This is the "accountability administration," which seeks more accountability for teachers etc.
3.) There is no real accountability in this administration
In response, there is only one reasonable action that Democrats should take this election cycle: call for a No Soldier Left Behind Act.
There will always be bad students just like there will always be bad soldiers. But like students, soldiers will likely prosper with strong, confident leadership. The No Soldier Left Behind Act (NSLB) will call for a number of benchmarks (or tests) to be performed, such as improving the security of Baghdad and halting Iraqi Government sponsored death squads.
There is no time for test runs though, here is the plan:
First, we take stock of how Iraq is going right now, as far as deaths, stability etc. Second, we set up a timetable, preferably 6-12 months in which our military brass must turn this boondoggle around. If things have not markedly improved in 6-12 months, our military brass will face the same fate as our teachers, their funding will be cut, jobs may be lost and most importantly, this war will end due to the incompetence of the military leadership.
Stay the course is an embarrassingly bad idea. Personally, while I am against this war, at this point, I could be convinced to stay if marked improvement was shown in six month. In all honesty, I don't think it's a war that can be won and every moment we stay with no plan or no real goals is just more innocent US and Iraqi lives that are lost with no purpose. Its time to put the test to our leadership and if they don't measure up, its time for change.
If they don't measure up to the test, its time to cut their funding until they figure out an effective way to spend money. As our conservative friends remind us, throwing money at a problem is no solution.