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The arguments against setting a time-table trouble me more than anything, because they are illogical and irrational. I'm not sure which frightens me more, the fact that the administration uses such irrational arguments, the idea that they might even believe what they are saying, the fact that so many of the American people buy into it, or the fact that the Democrats don't seem capable of dispelling the fog of unreason.

Let's just look at some of the arguments they have used. "Setting a time table tells the terrorists that all they have to do is wait for us to leave" This is one the most absurd claims to date. First of all, the terrorists are not stupid people. If they were stupid people, we wouldn't find this situation so challenging. As not so stupid people, I'm sure they are capable of thinking about multiple scenarios, and I can't imagine their planning is simply a matter of whether or not the American's are setting a time-table. Even if we set one, they would not know whether we would stick to it or not, so it would be virtually meaningless to them.

I mean really, think about the implications of this argument. If it were a reasonable argument to begin with, then all we'd have to do is set a date for withdrawal of, say, October 5th; then, instead of leaving October 5th, we wait a day, just to mess up their plans.

Next, this argument fails to appreciate the goals of the terrorists in any meaningful way, and particularly fails to appreciate the interplay between us and the terrorists. What is happening on the ground in Iraq is far too complex to be controlled. This is the first thing that has to be admitted. There are a number or terrorists whose goal in Iraq is to kill Americans because we're in Iraq. Unless we plan to stay forever, their goals will be achieved when we leave. This seems to be an abhorrent thought to the Bush Administration. Why? Ego. There's no other reason. Why would we care what the terrorists think for any reason other than ego? But some how, to the Bush Administration, if the terrorist get to say "We won! We drove the infidels out of Iraq!" then somehow we lose something. This is not a zero-sum game.

Because this is not a zero-sum game, it is true in both directions. Just because we decide to declare victory does not mean that the terrorists will admit defeat.

Then there are those who want to kill Americans because we're Americans, and not just because we're in Iraq. These are the ones the administration refers to when they say "if we leave,

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