Definition of success in Iraq an evolving theme

[maddezmom]

Current measure of victory hardly resembles standard of 4 years ago

By Eric Rosenberg
Hearst Newspapers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.20.2007

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's definition of success in Iraq has changed drastically since the March 2003 invasion, and the current measure of victory hardly resembles the standard promulgated four years ago.

Back then, the U.S. defined success as finding and destroying Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, installing a democratic, pro-U.S. government to serve as a model for despotic Arab states and rooting out any terrorists who may have found safe haven there under Saddam's rule.

Starting with the embarrassing discovery that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi realities have forced the Bush administration to redefine its standards of success.

The U.S.-led invasion has also triggered a tenacious insurgency that is attracting Islamic militants from around the world. And the administration is desperately trying to bolster the U.S.-backed Baghdad government to become more effective in fighting insurgents and to take steps to reconcile competing ethnic factions.

Against this background, Bush administration officials now define success in far more diminished terms.
The following is an outline of the administration's evolving definition of success:

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[rodeodance]

1. evolving?-no, it is a devolution

[rodeodance]

2. … but rather whether it has been reduced to a level that the political reconciliation process is mo

Rumsfeld grappled for a new definition, declaring that it did not matter how many units were at level 1. Regarding the decline in readiness of Iraqi units, Rumsfeld said on Sept. 30: "Its relevance is minimal." Later, Rumsfeld and military officials would only discuss a larger grouping that combined Iraqi units at level 1 and level 2.
January 2007: President Bush announced on Jan 10 an escalation of American forces into Baghdad. He defined success as American and Iraqis forces "reducing the violence in Baghdad."

"If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home," Bush said.
April 2007: President Bush drops his goal of a "peaceful" Iraq as a measure of success. "If the definition of success in Iraq or anywhere is no suicide bombers, we'll never be successful," he said on April 19.
May 2007: With the U.S. occupation in its fifth year and violence surging despite the influx of additional American troops, U.S. officials lower the bar again.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said May 7 that for the U.S. troop escalation to be judged a success, American forces need not bring stability to Baghdad.
"The goal in September is not whether the violence has been significantly reduced, or stability has been brought … but rather whether it has been reduced to a level that the political reconciliation process is moving forward in some meaningful way," Gates said.