Editorial: Bush evades the key question

Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005 | 7:51 a.m.

President Bush's speech Wednesday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., was the first of a series he plans to give in advance of the Dec. 15 elections in Iraq. If the president sticks to the same themes as heard by the midshipmen, the nation will not learn much that is new over the next two weeks about U.S. strategy to end the war.

Once again Bush said the "terrorists have made it clear that Iraq is the central front in their war against humanity." That is possibly true now, but Bush did not mention that this has occurred only since he ordered the attack on Iraq. While Saddam Hussein was truly an evil, bloodthirsty dictator, no credible evidence has emerged that his regime posed any imminent threat to the United States.

Bush went over well-trodden ground when he identified the enemy factions in Iraq and repeated his vow that they would all be unconditionally defeated.

In conjunction with his speech, Bush released a 35-page document outlining U.S. goals for Iraq. The document dates back to the beginning of the war and reiterates Bush's vision for a peaceful, democratic Iraq friendly to Western interests. While the document outlines objectives, it offers little insight into how the objectives will be achieved short of an endless U.S. presence in the country.

A central theme of Bush's speech Wednesday was the training by U.S. and coalition forces of Iraqi police and Army battalions. The administration has been saying for more than a year that such training will eventually allow U.S. forces to come home. Bush would not admit that any mistakes had been made in this critical endeavor, but he did say that training is a task that has not always "gone smoothly."

At least on this subject, however, Bush did say something new. He said there are now 120 Iraqi Army and police battalions, and that 40 are "taking the lead" in the fight against enemy forces. There are indeed many brave Iraqis who are fighting for a freer country. But Bush's statement conflicts with recent military and news accounts, which portray the majority of Iraqi forces as poorly disciplined, under-trained and undependable.

Since the war began, Saddam has been toppled, a democratic-leaning government has been installed, Iraqi voters have approved a provisional constitution and parliamentary elections have been scheduled. Following these accomplishments, the question is: When will our troops have completed their mission?

Congress and the American people are demanding an answer, but Bush on Wednesday evaded the question.