Biden Benchmarks(?)
The question mark is intentional, because one of these items doesn’t fit:
Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden, who will be the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, set down benchmarks on Monday that he said should be addressed by an influential panel considering the United States’ alternatives in Iraq.
Biden of Delaware issued a statement as the Iraq Study Group, headed by former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican, and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, met to decide its recommendations.
Biden said the group must address three central points, including U.S. troop deployments, a political roadmap for Iraq and the need to convene an international conference and engage Iraq’s neighbors, Iran and Syria.
“If the Baker-Hamilton commission addresses these three issues in detail, it can meet Americans’ growing expectations,” Biden said. “If it doesn’t, it risks forgoing the bipartisan support we need for any plan to leave Iraq responsibly, without trading a dictator for chaos.”
Isn’t that third item a recommendation rather than a benchmark (and a rather poor one, at that)? This notion that we must engage Syria and Iran is a big mistake, in my view…even if your enemies are gaining influence, do you just passively stand by and break bread with terror supporters? That’s not what this war supporter had in mind…as I’ve said before, if that’s the only way to win, then I’d rather lose…
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