I would think that having a complete turnabout in Congress is enough to capture the President’s attention but having Seceretary Rumsfeld removed as Secretary of Defense is an absolute breath of fresh air. The voters have spoken. They along with the Iraq Study Group are looking for a new direction. It would be much easier to look back and recommend what we should have done - or not done - in the first place. Attempting to arrive at a logical and practical next step now that we are there is much more difficult.

Almost everyone I speak with wants to find a sensible way out. Few are clinging to the belief that we did what was best for our country and we are winning the war. But for those few who still believe, I recommend taking a closer look at Bob Woodward’s book, State of Denial: http://www.bobwoodward.com. Woodward has earned respect over the past several decades as an investigative reporter. While some readers are themselves in a “state of denial,” it is hard to argue with his research and interviews. He has proven himself to be thorough and accurate in his reporting - no matter how preposterous his stance may first appear. What? The President of the United States involved in a Watergage scandal? What? The President of the United States concocted a reason to declare war on Iraq? We didn’t go there just out of the goodness of our hearts to bring democracy to their country?

Another author whom I have found insightful is James Banford who wrote A Pretext for War. He explains in well-documented form how knowledge of the terrorist attack slipped through our intelligence agencies and how they were abused for the purpose of documenting evidence that didn’t exist to justify the war in Iraq. His detailed research is spattered throughout my coming book thereby building a foundation to my storyline. To hear an interview with Jim Banford, click on www.antiwar.com/av/?articleid=3440.

 I am amazed to read in the McClatchy newspapers that the president signaled that neither the study group’s pessimistic assessment nor the bleak situation in Iraq nor the results of the midterm elections have shaken his belief that victory in Iraq is possible. To read more, click on http://www.thestate.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/16241756.htm.

I’m afraid that it may remain still true. The President has not yet come out of his state of denial.