Good News, Really

The election in Iraq looks like a great success. High turnout and little violence. So why does Spencer Ackerman of The New Republic feel so pessimistic?

"From here on out, measuring the Iraqi political process will be vastly murkier, and the United States will have no obvious point at which it can say its goals have been achieved--thereby facilitating an honorable withdrawal with minimal damage to U.S. credibility."

This clearly takes some sort of prize for missing the point. President Bush has repeatedly and clearly stated that U.S. forces will be withdrawn once Iraqi forces are fully functioning. The political process has never been key in driving the schedule for removing troops. Never.

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