A Third Way in Iraq

There is an open letter to President Bush, from Republican Presidential candidate James Gilmore III, in todays Washington Post. He proposes a "new" way to solve our Iraq problem. Something the Democrats have not proposed.

I believe that the American military is on target when officers ask for a mission that includes maintaining -- either at bases in Iraq at the request of Iraq or in bases in Turkey, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia -- a military force powerful enough to launch special operations missions against al-Qaeda or Sunni insurgents in Iraq; train Iraqi troops to defend their own country; and guarantee the security of the Iraqi government, if so desired by Iraq.

It seems to me that that is just what some Democrats have proposed for almost two years now (think John Murtha). I've yet to hear any Democrats say that withdrawing troops from Iraq means we will ignore problems that can be addressed using military force, such as fighting al-Qaeda, securing Iraqs borders or training Iraqi troops.