The Kerry Plan

Former presidential candidate, renowned war strategist, and fellow "C" student John Kerry has a plan for George Bush. Again.

The Man That Will Not Go Away has penned an editorial, faithfully printed in the New York Times, outlining just how to handle Iraq. Typically, the pedantic blowhard starts his forward thinking with some highly critical backward thinking:

Our mission in Iraq is harder because the administration ignored the advice of others, went in largely alone, underestimated the likelihood and power of the insurgency, sent in too few troops to secure the country, destroyed the Iraqi army through de-Baathification, failed to secure ammunition dumps, refused to recognize the urgency of training Iraqi security forces and did no postwar planning. A little humility would go a long way - coupled with a strategy to succeed.

John "I never fall, that son-of-a-bitch ran into me" is counseling humility? For failing to follow his advice? That's enough to make your head explode.

He should also say that the United States will insist that the Iraqis establish a truly inclusive political process and meet the deadlines for finishing the Constitution and holding elections in December.

With representatives voted upon to draw up a Constitution, isn't there already an "inclusive political process," Mr. Kerry? And how, pray tell, is insisting that the Iraqis meet a December deadline any different from what we are already doing?

The administration must immediately draw up a detailed plan with clear milestones and deadlines for the transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December elections. The plan should be shared with Congress.

Translation: write down what you intend to do and when, then submit it to the Democrats so we can belittle it and tear it to shreds while offering no alternative strategy.

Iraq, of course, badly needs a unified national army, but until it has one - something that our generals now say could take two more years - it should make use of its tribal, religious and ethnic militias like the Kurdish pesh merga and the Shiite Badr Brigade to provide protection and help with reconstruction.

When Bush did this very thing in Afghanistan, the Dems paraded gravely proclaimed that he had "outsourced the job." You can't win with this crowd.

If Iraqis, particularly Sunnis who fear being disenfranchised, see electricity flowing, jobs being created, roads and sewers being rebuilt and a democratic government being formed, the allure of the insurgency will decrease.

There's Kerry's "plan." Build stuff and everybody will like us. The jihadists will simply put down their Qurans, shout "The infidels have provided air conditioning and plumbing!" and go away. What a shallow and naïve world view.