When you tune in to hear the president’s latest address on Iraq, keep one thing in mind: his last address on Iraq.
With President Bush reportedly ready to endorse a full continuation of the “surge” in Iraq through next summer in a speech to the nation tonight, a look back at what he promised in his address last January might prove illuminating, especially concerning “benchmarks.”
The president said then, “I’ve made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq’s other leaders that America’s commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this….
“To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq’s provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country’s economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation’s political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq’s constitution.”
None of this happened.
No, of course not. For all the debate about the success (or lack thereof) of the White House policy, it’s surprisingly simple to understand when we go back and re-read what Bush told the nation in January. He was, in effect, offering a deal. America wanted an exit plan; Bush wanted an open-ended commitment. America wanted a drawdown; Bush wanted an escalation. America believed there is no military solution to the crisis; Bush said the military is the solution to the crisis.
The deal was simple: Bush gets his “surge,” we get results. Bush didn’t live up to the bargain.
The fact sheet released by the White House the day of the speech said:
The Government of Iraq commits to:
* Reform its cabinet to provide even-handed service delivery.
* Act on promised reconciliation initiatives (oil law, de-Baathification law, Provincial elections).
* Give Coalition and ISF authority to pursue ALL extremists.
* All Iraqi leaders support reconciliation.
* Moderate coalition emerges as strong base of support for unity government.
These weren’t “suggestions”; they were “commitments.” And they didn’t happen.
I know this starts to sound silly after a while, but White House officials put all of this in writing as a way to demonstrate to the country how serious they were about making progress. If they completed the tasks outlined in January, it would mean the policy worked. That they didn’t complete the tasks outlined in January, means it didn’t work. This isn’t complicated.
Regardless, before watching tonight’s speech, take a look at the last one. It says all one needs to know about whether to take Bush’s word seriously this evening.