Elections told Bush to Bring troops home

As I read the daily newspapers, I look for reports on President Bush's latest thoughts on the war in Iraq. I was very much encouraged when Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld resigned right after the November elections and Mr. Bush vowed to work with the newly elected Democratic majority in Congress, something he avoided when his own party ruled. But the further we get from the election, the more Mr. Bush resorts to pre-election rhetoric. Most troubling is a recent Associated Press article which reports that Mr. Bush interprets the midterm elections as reflecting the voters' desires to finish the mission in Iraq, another way of saying "stay the course." Everybody else seems to think that the elections meant, "Bring our people home." Mr. Bush missed the point that the insurgency began just days after he announced that coalition forces led by the United States would be remaining as occupiers and Iraqis would be governed by an American-led coalition provisional authority. Also, that the insurgency gained momentum every time innocent civilians were killed in the crossfire with enemy combatants, prisoners were tortured and killed, or property was needlessly destroyed in house-to- house sweeps. Refusing to face the reality that it is our very presence in their country that is so abhorrent, Mr. Bush is now hinting at sending tens of thousands more Americans into Baghdad to secure that troubled city, something he should have done in 2003. Perhaps Mr. Bush should listen to those who advise him to seek diplomatic solutions to problems he has been unable to resolve with the most powerful military in the world. I'm sure that the families of the soldiers not placed in harm's way will be grateful. Nick Reina, Milmay - Daily Journal, December 27, 2006