Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman just said the following on Meet the Press about bringing the troops home:
"[Kerry] said 'try to get 'em back after six months.' That's the worst thing you can say 'try to get 'em back after six months.' You know why? That's a signal to the enemy, it's a signal to the terrorists to wait six months and one day. And to our allies who are making a big sacrifice, more than 30 nations today in Iraq, it's a signal to them that we're not willing to stay the course if there's a political issue."So under Bush's logic, the troops must stay in Iraq forever because the day after we remove the troops the terrorists will start attacking again. It's irrelevant under Mehlman's logic whether we announce our troop withdrawal six months, or even one month, in advance. As soon as we announce we're withdrawing the troops - and no matter who's in office that announcement will come months in advance because we have over 100,000 over there, and it will take months to remove them - then the terrorists will wait until the day after we leave.
So Bush is arguing for the permanent occupation of Iraq.
