An Essential Difference

The point raised in this post is a very important, indeed essential, difference today between the Republicans and the Democrats. The Democrats recognize the need for critical review. The Republicans not only have abandoned this idea, but now hold it in contempt. Look, no one is smart enough, or virtuous enough, or wise enough to put together any time of complicated plan or program that has no flaws. Any plan put together by one individual, or a small group of like minded people, will have serious flaws. Those flaws will only be removed if the plans are subjected to critical review, by a diverse group of independent people. Without that review the plans will remain deeply flawed. That is what we are seeing in Iraq. The Bush-Cheny-Rumsfeld plans for Iraq were never really reviewed, certainly not by independent critics (or to the extent that independent critics did put forth their comments, those comments were ignored) and as a result the worlds greatest supper power is struggling to come up with some kind of success in fighting Iraq.

Will the Democrats plan for timed withdraw work? I don't know. But the current plan of more of the same will not. Also, if the Democrats plans are reviewed and debated, as the Democrats are doing, this nation will come up with the best options possible to salvage as much as can be from Iraq.