Editorials Support a New Direction in Iraq
July 16, 2007
"Don't Stay the Course"
Hartford Courant -- July 16, 2007
"Mr. Bush is right in saying that "war fatigue" ails the country. More important than fatigue, however, is a loss of faith in Mr. Bush's leadership...We are in the fifth year of the war. More than $300 billion and 3,600 U.S. dead later, it's past time for the White House to concentrate on real threats. Those who expect the White House to develop a feasible alternative to get America out of an impossible civil war aren't asking for the moon."
Philadelphia Inquirer -- July 15, 2007
"The president seems unable to acknowledge that military power alone cannot impose democracy on a violent land unready for it. Miracles can happen. But the turmoil in Iraq today leaves one conclusion: Bush has botched Iraq. He cannot endlessly leave American soldiers to die fighting for impossible objectives. If he cannot admit that, Congress must force him to face reality."
"The way out of Iraq begins with facing reality"
Sacramento Bee -- July 15, 2007
"There are no options for a graceful exit. The choice is among unpalatable alternatives. Republicans and Democrats in Congress increasingly understand this. The problem is that President Bush still doesn't, and he is the one who must do the planning for a safe, orderly disengagement... For the moment, Bush continues to inflexibly pursue the same course in Iraq, while Congress is moving closer to a bipartisan veto-proof majority -- 60 in the Senate and 261 in the House -- to change course for him. The president's best course is to act resolutely and courageously to find a way out of Iraq, with Congress as his partner."
"Bipartisan effort must pressure Bush"
Minneapolis Star Tribune -- July 15, 2007
"As the president stays in wishing/hoping/believing mode, it has become clearer by the day that leaders in Congress -- senior members from both parties -- will have to use their collective power to affect what the president perceives as the reality of Iraq and the reality of Americans' wishes... Just as it took truly bipartisan cohesion to get out of Vietnam, it will take more than a determined majority and a few straggling Republicans to turn Bush around."
The News & Observer (North Carolina) -- July 15, 2007
"The American people, and an increasing number of their representatives in Congress, understandably have lost patience. The president should acknowledge that reality and make sure the planning is under way to carry out an orderly pullback of our troops, mindful that poor planning at this stage could simply compound the disaster... The war in Iraq has cost over 3,500 American combat troops their lives, and tens of thousands of others will deal with their wounds forever. The investment in the war has detracted from the fight against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. It's sad to think that political pressure from Republicans worried about election or re-election in 2008 may be what finally gets Bush to consider a different strategy in Iraq. That would be a pathetic commentary on his leadership."
"Time for a New Phase on Iraq"
Wichita Eagle -- July 10, 2007
"President Bush must face reality: It's time for a different strategy in Iraq, one that acknowledges America's limited power to determine Iraq's future...American leaders must now focus on how to draw down U.S. troops and prepare for an eventual withdrawal, as outlined last year by the Iraq Study Group...Could a drawdown be dangerous? Yes. A too-precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops could leave a security vacuum and invite even worse regional chaos. But America cannot prosecute an open-ended war without achievable goals and without the support of the American people....The president last week asked the country for "patience" and more sacrifice on Iraq. But he's gone to the well too often, without delivering results. America's patience has worn thin on a mission that seems to chase ever-changing, unrealistic goals."
"Lesser evils and an exit strategy"
Boston Globe -- July 10, 2007
"The time has come for President Bush to face reality. The key decisions he must make now are not about staying the course, but about the best ways to reduce the numbers and the combat role of US troops...A virtue of the democratic system Bush has sought to export to the Middle East is that, at regular intervals, it allows the people to call their representatives to account."
Oregonian -- July 11, 2007
"It's hard to know how you should move when you're not clear about where you're going...That question, even more than timelines or surges, is what faces the administration and Congress on the issue of Iraq. More than four years into a war that has gone very differently from its original expectations, it's time to see what's possible, accept what's not possible, and stop pouring American blood and treasure into the space in between."
Seattle Post-Intelligencer -- July 10, 2007
"While President Bush & Co. want us to wait until September before seeing if the troop surges/conflict escalation tactic has worked, it seems Iraqis themselves are sending us a clear signal: It is not, and they have no faith that it will. Hence the movement to arm themselves...It's clear a change in course is required. By throwing more troops in, we've tried one direction. It's time to try another tactic by implementing a pullout plan. The focus must be on training and arming Iraqi security personnel rather than fighting a conventional war against a population that wants our forces out of its country."
"Sending a stern warning to Iraq"
Kansas City Star -- July 13, 2007
"In pressing for a scheduled withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, members of Congress in both parties are sending an important message to Baghdad...Iraqi leaders must, at long last, start focusing on national reconciliation and compromise. Otherwise their nation may be doomed to even greater bloodshed in the future...We applaud the House members from this area who this week helped send that message by voting for legislation sponsored by Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri that calls for U.S. force reductions to start later this year...As the bipartisan Iraq Study Group pointed out last year, Bush's open-ended military commitment to feuding Iraqi leaders has become counterproductive. He's made it too easy for them to duck responsibility, avoid tough decisions, and let U.S. soldiers pick up the pieces."
"Progress in Iraq falls far short"
Detroit Free Press -- July 13, 2007
"It is understandably difficult for the president to declare Iraq a "lost cause" in terms of the decisive victory and thriving democracy he envisioned five years ago. And Bush is correct that presidents are elected to do what they believe is right, not what is popular...But it is not right to maintain a costly course that is failing to deliver results. Even the modest progress to date could easily evaporate... It is time to start getting America out of Iraq, to stop debating whether the glass is half empty or half full, and start to drain it."
Albany Times Union -- July 10, 2007
"Politically, the President needs to change course. He needs to demonstrate to Congress an understanding of the realities of the continued U.S. occupation of a land now engulfed in civil war. At the very least, Mr. Bush needs to make it clear that the mission is a much different and much more narrow one from what he set out to do more than four years ago. He needs to begin to withdraw troops from Baghdad and other high-casualty areas. Neither Congress nor the public it is ostensibly accountable to has much patience at all for a steadily increasing death toll."
Daily News Tribune (Massachusetts) -- July 12, 2007
"For five years, Bush has been hiding behind his generals. Over and over again, he has overruled their recommendations and blamed the generals when his own decisions failed... Congress must take control of Iraq policy out of President Bush's hands. Staying the course is foolish when you're headed off a cliff."
"Bush should heed call to change course in Iraq"
Jackson-Sun (Tennessee) -- July 12, 2007
"Bush and his administration are clearly in denial. The reality is, more than 3,600 American troops have been killed since the start of hostilities in March 2003, and the violence shows no signs of abating. Once, the majority of Americans supported our efforts in Iraq. Now, the vast majority of Americans want our troops brought home...What's become increasingly clear is that what we're doing in Iraq isn't working. What's needed is a change in direction before any more American troops die needlessly. And the sooner that change is made, the better."
"Good choices for Iraq elude Collins, nation"
Portland Press Herald & Maine Sunday Telegram -- July 15, 2007
"But here's what we do know: American troops are not making significant progress toward pacifying Iraq. The Iraqi government has not done what it needs to do to assure its survival. And every day, Americans are dying... One can debate what a new Iraq strategy should look like, but there's no question that what we're doing now is failing. This failure, by the way, is owed to poor leadership and has nothing to do with a lack of support for the war at home... The president seems unwilling to change course. So, while timetables may not be good policy, for Snowe and others, they make sense politically...Collins, like the nation, has few good choices on Iraq, but, with or without a deadline, the need to get the Bush administration to reverse course is clear."
"Congress must halt funds for Bush's failed Iraq policy"
San Jose Mercury News -- July 13, 2007
"The United States has been blessed with presidents - Republicans and Democrats - who understood the difference between internal fortitude and perverse stubbornness. George W. Bush isn't one of them. Congress should see it as its moral obligation - and the will of the American public - to explain the difference. It should force the president to end the abject, deadly and costly U.S. policy failure that continues unchecked in Iraq. The House took a big step forward Thursday with the passage of a resolution that would require the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq beginning within 120 days. Now the Senate should follow suit."
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - July 15, 2007
"Perhaps Jack Murtha put it best: The Pennsylvania congressman, among the first to make the cogent argument that staying the course in Iraq was the exercise in futility that indeed the war has become, says President Bush is delusional. Based on the president's recent performance, we could not agree more. "Staying the course" is not simply futile -- it is a prescription for American suicide."
"Deadline in Iraq: It's time to set a date to bring our troops home"
Chicago Sun-Times - July 16, 2007
"The president has had more than enough time to develop and articulate an exit strategy in Iraq. Everyone wants to minimize the mess we'll leave behind. If April 1 doesn't work for the president, what date will? How long does he envision that we'll have to stay? The answer can no longer be "indefinitely." The American people need a plan, and they need it now."