Changing the Debate on Iraq

The first approach would be to try changing the terms of debate by new communications strategies and tactics. Somehow, some way, create a new narrative. Pull in outside communications advisors, perhaps, and figure out a way to tell the stories of this war’s heroes — its Audie Murphys, its Sergeant Yorks, its Andrew Jacksons or (to bolster the idea that we still do have allies) even its Lafayettes. Trumpet the successes in Iraq — the hospitals built, the schools opened, the new businesses started… Enlist somebody respected to make the case for staying the course. Find some retired Democratic senators, perhaps — Sam Nunn and Bob Kerrey, if they will do it — or some universally admired retired athletes such as Arnold Palmer or Lance Armstrong, and have them make the case for finishing the job… A second approach would be actually to do something dramatic. A brand-new diplomatic offensive against Iran, for instance. Find a way to enlist Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or other nations of the region who worry about Iranian hegemony, in an embargo or some other strong measure against Iran — backed, if necessary, by a credible threat of military force, such as precision strikes on support facilities for Iranian nuclear plants… A third approach would be to create new benchmarks for success in Iraq. In other words, redefine the intermediate goals of the surge to highlight achievements that are well on the way to being realized Fourth, the administration might work to “flip” noted skeptics over to the administration’s position. What if some careful nurturing could convince James Baker and Lee Hamilton of the Iraq Study Group that it is worth their while to embrace the surge publicly in all its particulars? What if a prominent newspaper’s editorial board could be convinced to change its tune based on evidence from the war zone? There must be a way, somehow, to shake up the political situation here in the United States so as to buy the time necessary for military successes to become apparent. Again, that’s the whole idea: to buy time, politically, in order for the surge to work.