Exiting in Good Company

No sooner had I articulated my exit strategy than others started piling on. Well, maybe it was more like great minds thinking alike. How about me parrotting what I've been reading. More like the latter, actually.

I write primarily to clarify my thoughts which are the product of many influences. I find that writing forces me to think hard about all the information that I take in. Little that I write in this blog is orginal; my goal is to understand the ramifications of ideas and how they are or are not consistent with my fundamental beliefs. I also recognize that the world is complicated and messy, that clean, neat solutions rarely exist in reality. Nothing is clean or neat about my exit strategy. I regret the death and desctruction that will surely ensue. My hope is that the death and destruction will end sooner rather than later which I believe is the consequence of BushCheney's "staty the course" policy.

Nonetheless, I was pleased to see that I have some excellent company. George McGovern, whom I still consider to be one of the most decent men ever to run for president, has offered a similar exit strategy. So has former ambassador Gerald Helman. Today I read that many American military officers share my thoughts. We all recognize that the policy will be difficult but we also see the very real possibility for bringing this star-crossed adventure to a close.

Inshallah.

[Update 31 October at 11:46 am MST: I just read where retired Lt. Gen. William Odom is part of this same chorus.]

[Cross-posted at Mockingbird's Medley.]