a year and a half ago, i wrote my argument for why a timetable for withdrawal is the only way to "win" the war in iraq. at the time, i used hezbollah's reaction to the israeli pullout from south lebanon in 2000 as an example. but i think the perceptions following the latest conflict in lebanon lend further support my argument.
this week's news in southern iraq is exactly as i predicted it. if the british has announced an august 2006 pullout date three years ago, it would have been a lot harder to spin this as a victory for the local militia. by not having a pre-announced timetable, withdraw can easily been seen as a retreat.
the u.s. will not be in iraq forever. the american public is now solidly against staying in iraq and iraqi public opinion is overwhelmingly against it. the writing is on the wall. it's really just a matter of "when" not "if." without pre-announced plans any withdrawal becomes a retreat. by utterly refusing to accept any timetable for withdrawal, president bush has guaranteed that we will lose the war in iraq.
