Withdrawal? When?

The people of Wisconsin have spoken. Thirty-two precincts voted on a referendum calling for withdrawal of troops from Iraq by December 31. The measure passed in twenty-four precincts. Rule by majority, right?

Responding to this news, Bush said the U.S. will withdraw when the mission is completed. What mission is that, Mr. Bush?

The mission to destroy the cradle of civilization?

The mission to create dissension in the Muslim world?

The mission to produce an entire generation of orphans?

The mission to make nearly everyone in the world hate us?

Or maybe it's the mission to enrich your friends at Halliburton.

Will someone tell this man that, by definition, democracy cannot be imposed? Freedom cannot be found at the point of a gun.

The French offered assistance to colonial troops during the Revolutionary War. Assistance which, I might add, had been sought. They did not break into colonists' homes in the middle of the night. They did not 'accidentally' kill hundreds of civilians.

When the war was over, the French left. It took another six years for the new nation to put together a working government. But they did it without foreign intervention, and it has worked for many years--as long as the leaders have followed it.

Our current leader throws around empty platitudes while he diminishes the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution--the same document forged in the early days of independence.

The French knew when to leave.

What about us?