NSVI

The document released by the WH this morning reveals no strategy, just more "stay the course" nonsense. These Bozos have no plan, no framework, no clue... they have nothing but pipedreams. Maybe, just maybe, if we keep doing the same inane, ineffectual things over and over and over, next time, they'll work.

Matt Yglesias has a good take on it.

Meanwhile, it's plain that there's no actual strategy here. The document calls for "building democratic institutions" and eventually "providing an inspiring example to reformers in the region." But the administration has no idea how to do that stuff. The government is corrupt, the security services, when not totally ineffective, are highly politicized and rather brutal, and there's simply no consensus in Iraq about the basic legitimacy of the state. I don't blame the White House for not devising a ten point plan to resolve those problems -- they simply can't be resolved -- but I do blame them, a lot, for their determination to waste more blood and treasure in a situation where they're hopelessly adrift. The "longer term" goals, meanwhile, are just idiotic:

An Iraq that is peaceful, united, stable, democratic, and secure, where Iraqis have the institutions and resources they need to govern themselves justly and provide security for their country.

An Iraq that is a partner in the global war on terror and the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, integrated into the international community, an engine for regional economic growth, and proving the fruits of democratic governance to the region.

That would be nice, I guess, but Iraq can't both be a sovereign country and have its long-term policies determined in Washington. What if Iraq doesn't want to be a partner in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction? How is Iraq supposed to be united if Iraq's Kurdish population doesn't want it to be united? How are we supposed to force Iraq's rulers to govern the country "justly?" And most of all, what about having 100,000+ soldiers and Marines running around the country hunting down bands of insurgent fighters is supposed to achieve any of this? There's a glaring disconnect between the goals of this enterprise, which all have to do with the nature of Iraqi politics and society, and the means at our disposal, which all have to do with killing people and blowing stuff up.