Editor's note: Each Wednesday, The State News editorial board will address a key issue of the presidential campaign. For a complete schedule of topics, please see the bottom of this editorial. All edits until Oct. 25 do not reflect a formal endorsement of any candidate.
The difference between President Bush's and John Kerry's plan for Iraq is stark. Bush is content - at least publicly - with the current road to reconstruction. Kerry wants a change.
The Bush administration's plan for the future of Iraq includes elections in January, training Iraqi military and spending freely for reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. Like the president said Thursday: "That's the plan for victory. And when Iraq is free, America will be more secure."
What's missing from Bush's plans for peace are tangible results. Free, democratic elections in three months do not resemble a strong exit strategy, nor does rebuilding what American bombs and insurgent attacks have destroyed. Bush's "strong course" for the swift removal of Saddam Hussein and the removal of his weapons of mass destruction has not yielded Iraqi freedom - it's brought America into a guerilla war.
Arguing over whether the president lied to the nation or just had faulty intelligence regarding his pretenses for war pales in comparison with the present issue - fixing the mess in Iraq as soon as possible. Bush's father stayed out of Baghdad during the Gulf War because of the mire that American troops are bogged in now. The United States should have waited and gone to Iraq as a "last resort" as the current President Bush first envisioned.
However, wishing for a different past will not fix the future. Kerry, like many in Congress, looked at the pre-war intelligence and decided that Saddam Hussein was a threat. After learning differently - much like the rest of the nation - Kerry was strong enough to admit fault and move on. We're still waiting for Bush to come around.
Owning up to mistakes takes courage. The periodic reappraisal of one's actions is called learning. The reasons for going to war in Iraq were Saddam's ties to al-Qaida and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the presence of weapons of mass destruction. None of these were actually present at the time of invasion, nor are they now. A change of plans often signals the onset of learning. If something doesn't work, fix it.
Kerry's plan for peace focuses on repairing relationships with the United Nations and other European allies. By repairing relations with our former allies, American troops could come home from Iraq sooner, Kerry said. If his plans are carried out, troops could be coming home as early as six months from implementation. A stretch, to be sure, but insofar as repairing our global image, Kerry's plan is viable.
If you find that changing perspective is better than unflinching resolve in the face of failure, Kerry's plan for peace and preliminary exit strategy appeals best. We cannot change the fact that the president led us into an unwinnable war, but we can make sure that America walks away from it with its dignity and integrity intact. Kerry has Bush beat on a plan for peace in Iraq.
