You want us out of Iraq? We're working on it.

Toward Iraq's Fifth Milestone

Terence P. Jeffrey, of Human Events Online, outlines the exit strategy. (Senator War Criminal, call your office.)

Speaking in Philadelphia Monday, President Bush pointed to “four major milestones” in the post-Saddam political development of Iraq: transfer of sovereignty, elections for a transitional government, approval of a constitution, and this week’s parliamentary elections.

But with his talk of “encouraging Iraqi reconciliation,” the President pointed toward a fifth milestone yet to be achieved: the successful romancing of Sunni Arab rejectionists by Iraq’s Shiite majority.

Brokering a Sunni-Shiite political marriage is crucial to establishing the stability in Iraq needed for our troops to come home. It will be difficult, but it is not impossible.

Here's the skinny from Bush's speech. Don't be surprised if you haven't heard any of this on your friendly neighborhood tv.

In recent speeches on Iraq, President Bush has described three enemies: Zarqawi’s terrorists, who must be killed or captured; “Saddamists” who can be “marginalized and defeated;” and indigenous Sunni “rejectionists,” the largest and most important adversary, who must be dealt with politically. “We believe that over time most of this group will be persuaded to support a democratic Iraq led by a federal government that is strong enough to protect minority rights,” Bush said of the rejectionists.