Not Reaching Objectives

John Deutch, head of the CIA from 1995-1996, has said that America is not reaching its objectives in Iraq.

Former CIA Director John M. Deutch, institute professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said that the United States is not making progress toward key objectives in Iraq and called for American troops to pull out "as soon as possible" during a speech Tuesday (June 7) at Harvard's Sanders Theatre.

Deutch, who delivered the Phi Beta Kappa oration at the honor society's annual Literary Exercises, served as CIA director under President Bill Clinton from May 1995 until December 1996. In his 20-minute speech, he challenged the views of both Republicans and Democrats who say that the United States must stay the course to stabilize the country before disengaging.

That position, Deutch said, is based on the assumption that the United States will leave a stable nation behind. But it is also possible, he said, that the United States will fail in its Iraq objectives and lose international credibility by staying the course, even as its ability to deal with other crises, such as North Korea, Iran, and the fight against international terrorism, is compromised.

"I believe that we are not making progress on our key objectives in Iraq," Deutch said. "There may be days when security seems somewhat improved and when the Iraqi government appears to be functioning better, but the underlying destabilizing forces of a robust insurgency and warring factions supported by outside governments is undiminished."

Wow. Scathing- and interesting: the argument is not a political one, per se, but one based on tangible objectives. If you attempt something for a particular purpose, and you find yourself in a position where those objectives simply are no longer achievable, if they ever were, Stop.

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Also, read further for some thoughts about poet Robert Creeley, who died last year. As Silliman points out, it is the most unexpected headline to feature the work of a poet.