U.S. Strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan

Washington, DC, May 2, 2007- President Bush's veto of the efforts of a Democratic Congress to impose benchmarks on the Iraqi government, and deadlines for withdrawal, has ended yet another round in one of the most unpleasant and dishonest partisan political debates in modern US political history. The question is what to do next, and whether either the Administration or Congress is capable of serving the national interest.

Both sides have failed the American people, failed the Iraqi and Afghan peoples, and failed to assert a meaningful role for the US to deal with its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither side has come to grips with the real-world issues involved or presented a credible plan for the future.