Whether or not this 'guess' is correct, this sounds like the 'new' State Dept. Condi. Link to the column at site: http://powerlineblog.com/archives/014923.php
Related, strongly so-(one might even wonder about plagarism) http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/08/diplomatic_wind.html
No conservatives have anything to say? (Gee, usually we are asking the Liberal members that.) Some conservatives though are getting a bit miffed. Links at site:
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Chimpy and Co. "lost the plot" when they decided to invade Iraq rather than scraping Afghanistan out like a gourd and setting up a viable government there. Now, our forces are caught in the middle of a fulminating civil war in Iraq and the Taliban are staging a comeback in southern Afghanistan.
I disagree with the invasion being a bad idea, but the follow through regarding adapting has been problematic. My take, pull our troops out of the way and let them fight it out, back the winner. Keep Iran out. Oh yeah, knock off Sadr.
On your first point, we must agree to disagree, but at least we can agree on the follow-through. Although I find your depiction of it as being "problematic" to be overly generous. We should indeed remove our troops from harms way, but to reintroduce them after the winner of a three-way civil war between Sunnis, Shi'as and Kurds would be a dicey proposition at best. Particularly given that the current government is already in Iran's pocket. Withdraw all of our troops but for a mobile strike force to Afghanistan, to help stabilize the situation there, and other nations in the region still willing to have our troops on their soil. Then, when the dust settles in Iraq, if the new govenrment ( if there is a viable new government), asks for our help, it can quickly be delivered. In removing Saddam from the picture, Chimpy and Co. did Iran a huge favor. A threat to Iran was removed, and US forces and resources are being sucked into the black hole that is now Iraq at a prodigious rate. This freed Iran to pursue its own goals, both on the nuclear front and in the long term strategic picture as US forces are stretched so thin that the threat of force by Chimpy's administration is, at best, weak.