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Diplomats Need Deadline, Not Troops
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates behind her.
The Democratic Congress and Republican President will have to compromise on Iraq - but it is important that the Democrats not give away the entire store-house. Informed observers question whether the President ever compromises.
A middle ground does exist. Democrats have been given the mandate to end this war and have a duty to do so in a reasonable way. Instead of setting a deadline on troop withdrawal, they should set a deadline requiring diplomacy to bring about a real political solution. First, we need a deal between all Iraqi factions and their neighbors should the Democrats then press for deadlines to withdrawal.
Conservative clinging to indefinite commitments and liberal insistence on immediate withdrawal will not work. We need a moderate approach to insist today that our State Department engage all Iraqi parties and the neighborhood to reach a new social contract for the region.