After we were attacked on September 11th, George Bush made the decision to invade Iraq. To be sure, Congress authorized the president to use force in Iraq if he deemed it necessary; however, I can’t imagine that anyone would argue with the view that the war in Iraq is George Bush’s war and he will ultimately (and rightfully) be judged by the outcome of this decision. Let me say at the outset of this discussion that if there is a democratic, US-friendly government in Iraq in 10 years George Bush deserves the credit for that visionary outcome. However, conversely, if the situation continues to devolve in the direction it is going, I believe Bush deserves the blame for that as well.
Here are the elements of the war that I believe should be discussed and evaluated:
- The Invasion of Iraq
- Was it the right decision to invade Iraq based on what we knew in 2003?
- Was it the right decision to invade Iraq based on what we know today?
- What is the Assessment of the Current Status of the Iraq War?
- What should be the plan going forward?
In my view, each of these elements must be evaluated separately and the Bush administration gets different “marks” on each element. I would first like to know whether you agree with these elements as being the relevant issues to be discussed and then we can get into our respective views on each. Feel free to provide a revised structure before we get into the substance of the arguments.
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