The American Mind

By transposing two numbers I couldn’t join Sen. John McCain’s weblogger conference call. James Joyner didn’t have an instant bout of dyslexia and got to ask the Senator a question I would have asked: What is victory in Iraq? McCain’s answer wasn’t great:

In response to his earlier statement that he didn’t think we’d lost yet, I asked him how we’d know if we had. He admits he really doesn’t know. He thinks that we’ll probably know by the time we get the September progress report and that we can see whether there has been enough progress on key points. Unfortunately, as he later noted in response to a question from John Hinderaker, it’s quite likely that the enemy will redouble their efforts “around Labor Day” to make sure things are bad in September.

McCain, like President Bush, has the grand strategy down. They (and myself) want a free, stable Iraq that can’t be used as a launch platform for attacks on the West by Islamist terrorists. All of us can’t envision what it would look like. Does it mean zero suicide bombings in Baghdad or even Iraq? Does it mean no longer finding piles of beheaded bodies every few weeks? Does it mean Iran has little chance of turing it into a satellite state? Does it mean the Iraqi parliament holds hands and sings the Arabic equivalent of “Kum By Ya?”

Goals lead to tactics. They also help leaders better explain the situation to constituents. The public is frustrated with Iraq. They don’t see an end. Helping them see what the goal is (besides bringing the troops home) could help the domestic political situation.

While standing firm for what he thinks is in the nation’s national security interests Sen. McCain has the same lack of vision as President Bush.

“McCain Conference Call”