Present strategy just isn't working

Editor,

The same day, Sunday, Aug. 27, that the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, said that he did not foresee a civil war in Iraq and that violence was abating, six of our solders were killed.

Now, really, how long is this charade going to continue, which is decimating our military resources and continuing to play out in the high ego-saturated halls of Congress and the White House before our leaders begin to listen to the American public which says, "Enough is enough already?"

We can listen to all the pronouncements from the new Iraqi government about civil war or no civil war; we can listen to all the "CYA" speakers in Washington, DC; we can read and listen to all the reports from any and all of the news channels, papers, magazines and Internet sites, and try to make sense of this most grievous fiasco in Iraq, but I ask you: Does it take much intelligence, beyond logical thinking, to see that our presence in Iraq is not working?

From the White House we hear: "Stay the course." "We must prevail." "We cannot afford to lose." "Giving up only emboldens the terrorists."

When I see and hear this on television, I fairly shout at the set: "Hey! Have you ever thought that engaging militarily in a completely impossible situation just may not be able to be resolved militarily?"

I mean, isn't it just possible that we have carved out for ourselves a situation for which we cannot escape through our present strategy?

Sometimes in life bad choices mean bad outcomes, and no amount of excuses and bold and arrogant attitudes will resolve the situation to our liking. It always requires a totally new way of approaching the problem.

In my opinion, we are well beyond that point already.

Bob McClellan

Polson