Mr. McDuffee uses Bush's "time horizon" to argue Bush et al. see Iraq as a financial and political investment that has a provided a sizable "return" on their "investment;" another presidential term, cover for reckless military aggression, tolerated price-gouging by contractors, a new addition to the "American empire project," and record profits for Big Oil. This thoughtful essay is certainly worth a thoughtful reading. Mr. McDuffee may well be right about Bush's view of Iraq and "time horizon," but I have a somewhat different view of the use of the phrase "time horizon." Mr. McDuffee finds the roots of the phrase in the field of finance and investment, but we can trace "horizon" to more distant roots. Originally "horizon" meant ... More »

This story focuses on the language of "withdrawal" but fails to point out that the great majority of Iraqis want all US forces out of their country ASAP, not just the combat forces. The article might also have mentioned that most Iraqis and most Iraqi officials do not want the US to keep permanent military bases in their country. Keeping those bases is a hidden agenda item of the Bush administration, and apparently is also a hidden agenda item of some of Obama's advisers.

A short, sweet opinoin piece from an excellent periodical. On a broader level, it shows once again just how simple-minded McCain has de-volved into. McCain and Bush can't even agree on Iraq anymore.