In the Spririt of Compromise

In the spirit of compromising with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid, I suggest President Bush agree to a hard schedule of troop withdrawal from Iraq that clearly points the way to an end date. We'll assume a starting point of 160,000 in June after the surge is complete:

MILITARY WITHDRAWAL SCHEDULE

JUN 2007 ............................. 160,000

JUL 2007 ............................. 159,999

AUG 2007 ............................ 159,998

SEP 2007 ............................. 159,997

OCT 2007 ............................ 159,996

NOV 2007 ............................ 159,995

DEC 2007 ............................. 159,994

JAN 2008 ............................. 159,993
FEB 2008 ............................. 159,992
MAR 2008 ........................... 159,991
APR 2008 ............................ 159,990
MAY 2008 ........................... 159,989
JUN 2008 ............................ 159,988
JUL 2008 ............................. 159,987

AUG 2008 ............................ 159,986
SEP 2008 ............................. 159,985
OCT 2008 ............................ 159,984
NOV 2008 ............................ 159,983
DEC 2008 ............................. 159,982

In January 2009, a new president (in consultation with Congress, of course) will be free to adjust this schedule. But for those worrying about a "blank check" and no end date instead of focusing on victory, this clear downward trajectory will surely comfort them--yet without giving our enemies hope they can outlast us.

And if the enemy gives up because they believe we won't give up the fight shy of victory, we can accelerate this schedule.

Hey, I'm not unreasonable.