Jim Hightower

Want the U.S. out of Iraq before year's end? Or maybe next year? Or even four years from now?

If George W and his backers have their way, you can forget about any timetables for withdrawal. During the holiday hiatus at the end of last year, Bush quietly noted that he and the current leaders of the Iraqi government had agreed to what he called an “enduring” relationship that would keep American troops and our money in that country for a long, long time.

How long? Bush’s general, David Petraeus, who was sent to Iraq last year with a surge of more troops to produce quick results, has now said that a 50-year U.S. presence there would be a “realistic assessment.” And, indeed, well before the surge, the Pentagon was building a dozen permanent American bases in Iraq.

Then comes Sen. John McCain, a big backer of Bush’s surge, declaring that he supports an ongoing occupation and permanent military bases there. He even has a fantasy that you and I would be happy with that, declaring: “I don’t think Americans are concerned if we’re there for 100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years,” as long as we don’t have too many troop deaths.

Aside from Bush, Buckshot Cheney, and Halliburton executives, what “Americans” is McCain talking about? Even with deaths in Iraq down in the past few weeks, polls consistently show that the public overwhelmingly thinks this occupation is a horrible mistake, that Bush is doing a poor job, and that we need a short timetable for withdrawal. Also, does McCain really think Americans want endless trillions of our tax dollars thrown down the bottomless hole of that divided country? There are a few more important needs to spend money on in our country.

We the People must demand not only the quick withdrawal of all of our troops from the deadly sectarian violence of this civil war, but also the defunding of permanent American bases in Iraq.