Staunch supporters of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq have become more vocal and public with their concern over the way things are going there, prompting observers to suggest that even Republicans are getting nervous.Read the whole thing. There are also quotes from retired Cols. David Hunt and Gary Anderson.
"The Administration is now starting to lose its base on the war, and if this continues, it will come under increasing pressure to accelerate our withdrawal," said Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and former adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. He recently penned the book, "Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq."
"I have been struck that so many of the intellectual, neo-conservative supporters of the war have been quite critical of the Bush administration's management, or mismanagement, of the post-war situation in Iraq, both politically and militarily," Diamond told FOXNews.com.
Andrew Bacevich, a Vietnam veteran and professor of international relations at Boston University, said he sees a marked shift.
"There are people who view themselves on the Right, who were enthusiastic supporters of the war, who are now greatly concerned that the Bush administration or more in particular, the military, is losing its focus, its heart, and isn't fully committed," Bacevich said. "I think Bill Kristol would be a good example of that."
Kristol, a FOX News contributor and editor of the Weekly Standard, advocated toppling Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. But in the Aug. 15 edition of the magazine, Kristol accuses Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of "weakness and defeatism," for lowering the standards for success in Iraq and "emboldening" the enemy through his commanders' suggestion that U.S troops may come home as early as next spring if Iraqi forces are trained to secure the country in that time.
He also continues to blame Rumsfeld for not putting more U.S troops into Iraq at the start.
"The president knows we have to win this war. If some of his subordinates are trying to find ways to escape from it, he needs to assert control over them, overrule them or replace them," Kristol wrote. "What the president needs to do now is tell the Pentagon to stop talking about (and planning for) withdrawal, and make sure they are planning for victory."
President Bush has tamped down ideas of a spring withdrawal and has said repeatedly there will be no exit timetable. "As Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down," he said last month from his Crawford, Texas, ranch. "The important thing for Americans to know is that we are making progress."
Some of his supporters are now saying a more realistic view is necessary.
I find Diamond unconvincing. If he was actually a supporter of the war, and I doubt it, he surely had an opportunity to make things better than they are when he was with the CPA. Kristol is right on the money though: it is time to stop planning for withdrawl when we haven't achieved victory yet.
The best analysis in the piece though comes from pollster David Winston:
"There is still support for this war," Winston said. What people are looking for from the President, he added, are more specifics and measures for success. "There is more demand for that right now."Couldn't have said it better myself.
Mark's Remarks
I find this whole thing to be a horrible display of the weak-kneed-ness of Conservatives and Republicans. For heavens sake, Bill Kristol is starting to sound like John McCain or Pat Lahey for goodness sake!
I am sick and tired of this garbage. You want to know if the military is losing heart, ask them! More and more of those injured in Iraq are saying they want to go back and finish the job. More and more of the young men in uniform I talk to tell of the good things going on.
I think this is a remarkable case where Bill Kristol and company are believing the media reality over the actual, real world reality.
I will agree that the President needs to be more forceful and clear in his overall objectives. However, do we really want the President broadcasting war objectives to the enemy, so they can use them against us? Just a thought.
