New York Times says it's time to bring the troops home post haste - Now!!

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush’s plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. New York Times Editorial, July 8, 2007

Wasn't I pleased to read the editorial of the New York Times 'The Road Home' calling for bringing the troops home now - no more point for them to be in Iraq. I count this as an unexpected birthday gift to myself. My birthday was yesterday. Thank you NY Times and it's about time! After all the President did say in 2005, that it was going to be a 'long war' and the next President was going to have to figure out what to do about Iraq. Why did it take you till 2007 to 'hear' and believe what he said. This isn't exactly new news, and how many lives were lost between the time the President said those words and you are getting around to expressing the same conclusion as an editorial piece. Still a thank you New York Times is in order.

In the words of the New York Times editors;

excerpt

July 8, 2007

Editorial

The Road Home

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

Like many Americans, we have put off that conclusion, waiting for a sign that President Bush was seriously trying to dig the United States out of the disaster he created by invading Iraq without sufficient cause, in the face of global opposition, and without a plan to stabilize the country afterward.

At first, we believed that after destroying Iraq’s government, army, police and economic structures, the United States was obliged to try to accomplish some of the goals Mr. Bush claimed to be pursuing, chiefly building a stable, unified Iraq. When it became clear that the president had neither the vision nor the means to do that, we argued against setting a withdrawal date while there was still some chance to mitigate the chaos that would most likely follow.

While Mr. Bush scorns deadlines, he kept promising breakthroughs — after elections, after a constitution, after sending in thousands more troops. But those milestones came and went without any progress toward a stable, democratic Iraq or a path for withdrawal. It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush’s plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost.

The political leaders Washington has backed are incapable of putting national interests ahead of sectarian score settling. The security forces Washington has trained behave more like partisan militias. Additional military forces poured into the Baghdad region have failed to change anything.

Continuing to sacrifice the lives and limbs of American soldiers is wrong. The war is sapping the strength of the nation’s alliances and its military forces. It is a dangerous diversion from the life-and-death struggle against terrorists. It is an increasing burden on American taxpayers, and it is a betrayal of a world that needs the wise application of American power and principles.

A majority of Americans reached these conclusions months ago. Even in politically polarized Washington, positions on the war no longer divide entirely on party lines. When Congress returns this week, extricating American troops from the war should be at the top of its agenda.

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