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http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/OPINION01/701090325/1021/OPINION01Speaking for Daddy? Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser to presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, said Sunday that the proposed troop buildup should support a specific mission, such as stemming ethnic cleansing in Baghdad, and do so for a specific period.
"Unless there's something we can accomplish that is visible and demonstrable … people will say, well, look, the situation hasn't changed," Scowcroft commented. "That demonstrates it's hopeless and the pressure to get out will increase."
He called the president's zeal for introducing democracy to the Middle East as a path to regional peace nothing but "revolutionary utopianism" and he faulted any plan (including ones supported by many Democrats) making the American commitment dependent upon the Iraqi government accomplishing specific milestones.
"If they don't meet the first milestone, you withdraw support, making it virtually impossible for them to meet the second milestone," Scowcroft observed, adding that would be counterproductive. Instead, he said, there should be a broader regional approach to gaining stability in Iraq, including a focus on reviving Arab-Israeli peace efforts.
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