Continued: Wes Davey: Beware calls for victory that can't define what victory is

Minnesota members of Vets For Freedom recently visited Congress, and afterward Michael Honeycutt shared with Star Tribune readers his belief that America must stay the course in Iraq, writing that "victory is possible and necessary."

What does victory in Iraq mean? The Vets For Freedom website doesn't help with this question; instead, it stresses "the importance of achieving success." President Bush offers no clear definition of victory, only unclear rhetoric that has changed during the five years of war in Iraq. When Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker went before Congress to report on the yearlong military surge, they too were asked to define the victory they hoped to see; their answer amounted to an evasive "we'll know it when we see it."

After five years of war with no end in sight, these answers don't cut it. If we expect our troops to continue to serve and die in Iraq, then at the very least we must clearly define what we are asking them to achieve.

Even if Bush could define victory in clear and measurable terms, how long and at what cost are we willing to stay his course? Already more than 4,300 American and allied troops have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the human cost to the Iraqis has been far, far greater.

The financial cost for these occupations has also been tremendous, yet most Americans don't seem to be concerned about the cost. Perhaps they are unconcerned because we haven't been asked to pay one thin dime for these wars so far; the money to pay for our invasion and occupation of Iraq has largely been lent to us by China and Saudi Arabia.

One very troubling part of the Vets For Freedom message is the notion that we will win by getting rid of the terrorists. The definition of who is a terrorist or insurgent has varied throughout the occupation -- from province to province, from commander to commander. More disturbingly, the corrupt government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki might define terrorists as any of its political opponents.

There is also the question of how we would "get rid of" tens of thousands of terrorists -- build a prison large enough to hold them all? The phrase "get rid of" itself implies a worse fate for them, and that is something our country and our military cannot morally be a part of.

The reality for our military is that it can't sustain the current troop levels for an indefinite occupation of Iraq. Our Army -- which bears the brunt of the occupation in Iraq -- is broken. Lower-ranking officers and enlisted soldiers are leaving the military in droves because of repetitive rotations to war zones, and recruiting increasing numbers of high-school dropouts and criminals is hardly the best way to replace the soldiers who have left the Army.

Stretched thin, members of the American military have done everything that has been asked of them, and that has been especially true during the surge. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., recently commented that while our troops have more than carried their share of the load during the surge, there has been no corresponding political surge by President Bush to hasten an end to the war -- no diplomatic efforts, no pressure on the Iraqi parliament, nothing.

In December 2006, members of the nonpartisan Iraq Study Group issued a report that strongly urged Bush to immediately begin diplomatic efforts to resolve the mess in Iraq. He ignored their advice, and in the ensuing 16 months 1,100 more Americans have died in Iraq. Staying the course Bush has set is unconscionable and indefensible.

Both Vets For Freedom and Iraq Veterans Against the War are concerned about what will happen to Iraqi citizens when the American military leaves Iraq. It is likely that sectarian violence will continue, but as the Vets For Freedom writer pointed out, the Iraqis are smart. They will find a way to end the violence before their country is destroyed.

We can no longer stay the course of the failed leadership of President Bush as Vets For Freedom is asking us to do. It is time to let the Iraqis govern themselves and decide the future of their country. We need to end this tragic occupation and bring our troops home from Iraq -- starting today.

Wes Davey is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.