Not Too Important?

John McCain told Matt Lauer today it's "not too important" when the troops come home from Iraq. He went on to say that what is important is keeping the troops who are in Iraq safe and eliminating casualties (for the record, he didn't say when that might happen, either). As he has repeatedly told us, McCain thinks that Iraq will be another Germany or South Korea. We'll have troops working there "for 100 years". Why has no one pointed out the faulty logic of this? Culturally, Iraq couldn't be more different from Germany or South Korea, countries that don't have warring ethnic groups or intrinsic hatred for imperialists from the West. The middle east is home to complicated conflicts that have gone on for thousands of years. Does McCain think our presence in Iraq is going to bring peace to the region? Because I don't know how he's ever going to stop angry people from strapping bombs to their bodies and plowing through US military barricades. We need to leave this nation we never should have invaded and let the people it rightfully belongs to figure it out for themselves (In fact, the current Iraqi government is already bristling at US plans to stay indefinitely).

That's the international answer to McCain's statement. As for the domestic one, it's not important when the troops come home? Please tell that to their families. I found the Senator's words chilling, thinking about the wives, mothers, fathers and sons who most certainly heard them and hope and pray desperately every day for their loved one's safe return. Please also tell that to our economy, which could use the three billion dollars a week we're spending in Iraq (up from the 2 billion I'd previously reported). If John McCain thinks his plan will work, I need him to show us why. I need him to tell us when the military can stop forcing soldiers to stay for double and triple tours of duty. I need him to tell us when most of the troops will come home, when we can reduce the amount of money we're spending on this war, and when those casualties will disappear. Because if he can't, all we're getting is more of what we have now, an indefinite statement that "the surge is working" and let's wait and see. It's just not good enough. It may not be too important to John McCain when the troops come home, but it is really important to us.