Iraq and Afghanistan

It is very difficult for a challenger in a war situation to express simultaneously support for the troops and promote the idea that this was “the wrong war at the wrong time”. Bush is right about that. But Kerry must do both to win and he is right to do both.

It is in the area of developing a new strategy for Iraq that Kerry faces the most serious challenge. He is absolutely right that if one were going to fight this war, the war should have been better planned and the aftermath should have been better planned. This is both a matter of inadequate resources and inadequate planning for the use of those resources. But Kerry must be careful. He knows that he will not really know what to do until after his election (if it occurs) and he is able to sit down with the principals and see what is possible.

Kerry accuses Bush of having a policy of “more of the same” in Iraq. Yet if we look at the Kerry plans, outlined here, we find that they too are made up of items that could be labeled “more of the same”. He is going to:
* Internationalize, because others must share the burden;
* Train Iraqis, because they must be responsible for their own security;
* Move forward with reconstruction because that's an important way to stop the spread of terror; and
* Help Iraqis achieve a viable government, because it is up to them to run their own country.

All of these items are, of course, what Bush claims to be doing. But under these headings Kerry does spell out some new directions or at least emphases that would help. Probably the most useful (found under several headings) is the shifting of more of the development process at small and major levels, in gas fields and in election preparations, to a broader set of international actors as well as to the Iraqis themselves. There has been too much reliance on Americans, particularly in the major oil and construction projects. It is also interesting to note that while Kerry has had his doubts about making the democratic transformation of Iraq (or other states) a major aspect of American policy, in his Iraq program he suggests strengthening the democracy program by such actions as increased protection of the voting process, more training in civil society and the operation of political parties, and more support for judicial training.