Joe Biden said it again today: “We will end this war.” Referring to Iraq neither he or Barack Obama ever say “win.” They never even say “secure the gains.” One hopes they don’t really believe their campaign hooey. They must understand victory is nearly at hand, and all that is required is a patient transition and a deliberate plan for insuring that violence does not resurface, right? We really don’t know, but at some point the rhetoric becomes reality and he, his supporters and the overwhelmingly Democratic Congress will act accordingly.
This all might be a good topic for the final debate: why is “end” always the goal and not “win”? What does that message transmit to our enemies? Perhaps Obama will surprise as he did in the last debate with his JFK-esque “go anywhere and do whatever we need to prevent genocide” doctrine. Or does that just apply outside of Iraq?
