Andrew Sullivan today is quoting Sarah Palin as saying, in late 2006, she wanted "an exit plan" for the liberation of Iraq. Sullivan now argues that this means she wanted an arbitrary exit date, like the defeatist Democrats.
Sullivan seems to forget -- and it's hard to believe he'd forget -- that "an exit plan" is not a date. It is a plan that describes fairly clearly what victory looks like, and then allows U.S. troops to leave when that victory is achieved. The World War II exit plan didn't involve a time limit. It meant beat the tyrants, set up democracies, and go home.
In making his argument that Palin's "exit plan" is incompatible with McCain's view on Iraq, Sullivan says:
The point, according to McCain, was "victory."
Andrew, how does that contradict what Palin said? As John McCain said almost five years ago, the exit strategy for Iraq is victory.
Frank Warner
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