Real Timetables for Iraq | NYT Editorial

[BootinUp]

Funny how a few weeks before the election Bush administration officials start hinting at timetables for getting American troops out of Iraq. But spinning out implausible scenarios — like the claim that it might take only 12 to 18 more months for the Iraqis to be able to defend themselves — won’t get Iraq any closer to containing the mayhem, nor this country any closer to extricating itself.

What is needed is an explicit, credible and public set of deadlines — for Iraq’s leaders but also for President Bush — to confront the most difficult problems, including disarming sectarian militias, stabilizing Baghdad, protecting minority rights, and apportioning the country’s oil wealth.

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The Iraqis weren’t the only ones backpedaling. A day after the top American general in Iraq, George Casey, acknowledged that more troops may be needed to help stabilize Baghdad, his office issued a “clarification” saying that wasn’t really what he meant.

And while General Casey suggested that the Iraqis should be able to provide their own security in 12 to 18 months, President Bush let slip that he had a far different timeline in mind. When asked at a news conference whether he would renounce any claim to permanent bases in Iraq, Mr. Bush said that was something for the Iraqi government to decide. He added, “And, frankly, it’s not in much of a position to be thinking about what the world is going to look like five or 10 years from now.”

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