WHILE THE NEOCONS STILL DREAM OF EMPIRE.... (via Kevin Whited):

Withdrawal Pains: Let's Acknowledge the Reality of Iraq And Stop Talking About Fewer Troops (Robert Kagan, December 4, 2005, Washington Post)

The current discussion about drawing down American troops in Iraq -- whether "immediately," "rapidly" or "as soon as possible" -- would be amusing were it not so dangerously divorced from reality. There could be no greater mistake than drawing down the U.S. force now, at a moment when there is real hope for success if the United States perseveres.

But Democrats calling for these reductions are not the only ones to blame for giving the impression, however mistaken, that the United States is growing short of breath in Iraq just as the situation appears to be improving. The Bush administration has been talking about reducing forces in Iraq ever since the invasion ended in 2003.

No one understands George W. Bush less well than this crowd.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 5, 2005 1:24 PM