Novak says—incorrectly—that Rumsfeld indicates U.S. withdrawal next year

A couple of weeks ago, as discussed at VFR, Robert Novak said that administration sources indicated that our forces would pull out of Iraq next year. Novak now says his scoop is tacitly confirmed by Secretary Rumsfeld. In fact, Rumseld’s comment does not indicate what Novak says it does. Here is the crucial quote from Rumsfeld, made in response to the question, when would we be able to leave?

… I think it’ll be a situation where the Iraqis have developed the ability to manage their situation from a security standpoint. And we will have a mutual agreement that it makes sense now to bring down the coalition forces and leave.

This is no different from what the administration has been saying all along. The fact is that the nascent government of Iraq is very far at present from being able to manage their own security. If we withdrew our forces now or in the near future, that government would most likely fall because of the terror insurgency. So I don’t see how this is a formula for our leaving next year. To the contrary, by Rumsfeld’s criterion (and as I’ve been saying all along), we would have to stay in Iraq for an indefinite period of time, since there is no sign of the terror insurgency having been defeated to a sufficient degree to allow an Iraqi government to survive in the absence of U.S. forces, and (as I’ve also been saying all along), we do not have a strategy in place to defeat the insurgency.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 07, 2004 09:42 AM | Send