"Benchmarks"

So, I was on my way to work today, thinking of the Democratic proposal of adding "benchmarks" to an Iraqi war funding bill. The Democratic idea is that the Iraqi government isn't doing enough to stop the insurgency and terrorism occurring in Iraq, so we need to do something to prod them along. On its surface, it seems to make sense. I had pretty good feelings about the idea at first, but have recently changed my mind.

The problem with the benchmarks is that they go in the wrong direction. The short of it: if violence continues, U.S. troops will leave. I'll set aside the idea that continued violence is exactly why the troops are needed, not why they should go. The important issue is what this means for the insurgents and terrorists: they now have a very clear, well defined criteria for success. While these aren't the hard deadlines or an explicit declaration of surrender, these provide our enemies exactly what is required in order to get us to surrender, which is likely even more dangerous.

Laying out exactly what is required for troop withdrawal based on unacceptable levels of violence will only encourage those who desire our withdrawal to engage in further death and destruction. When we broadcast a list to al Qaeda consisting of who to bomb, who to attack, who to kill, and what to do to interrupt our mission - can anyone honestly believe they will not use this as a blueprint?

The principle behind the "benchmarks" is a good idea. There should be some level of accountability and responsibility for all members of the mission. The real problem, though, is that we're holding the wrong people to task. We need to make it very clear and very obvious exactly how U.S. troops will leave the country: when there is a stable, free, liberal democracy in Iraq.

It is true that there are military requirements in every war. This war is different, however, in that this is not a purely physical war. In effect, we are engaged in a war of ideas: liberty and democracy against extremism and oppression. We need more than just bombs and bullets to fight - we need to convince the Iraqis that there best interests lie with ours.

To accomplish this:

1) We need to continue our current missions of establishing peace and security in the Sunni Triangle and in Baghdad and its surrounding areas in order to provide an opportunity for the Iraqi people to witness the freedom and prosperity that comes with cooperating with the democratically elected government.

2) We need to put in place benchmarks for victory rather than for defeat. We need to define the exact goals for the troops - reductions in violence, creation of infrastructure, establishment of democracy - and make it very clear that as these targets are reached, troops will withdraw. Destroying a power plant isn't going to get American troops to leave, for example, while establishing 24-hour electrical service will. Attacking an Iraqi army recruiting station won't get U.S. troops to leave, while fully training the Iraqi military will. Slaughtering innocent civilians won't get U. S. troops to leave, but rather reductions in violence will.

3) We need to pass laws expressly forbidding the very practices of which our administration is falsely accused. Outlaw the theft of oil and prove that this war is not about oil; outlaw permanent military bases in Iraq and outlaw our presence in Iraq without the explicit approval of the Iraqi government and prove that this is not an occupation; outlaw proselytizing by U.S. personnel in Iraq on government business and prove that this is not a war to establish Christianity; outlaw direct interference in Iraqi government business and prove that the Iraqi government is not a puppet of the United States.

4) We need to treat this as an election. The biggest strengths of the Bush administration lie in winning elections. It's time to use some of those skills to good effect in Iraq. We need to have Arabic-speaking Americans on Iraqi and Arab television daily, pointing out the new laws and reiterating the idea that we want to leave and we will leave just as soon as the benchmarks are met.

5) We need to absolutely meet every commitment we set in accordance with the above. We need to make it very clear to the Iraqi people, to the insurgents, and to al Qaeda, that we want out, we want a peaceful, free, and stable Iraq, and that we will keep our word.