This man can't be President soon enough

Kerry pre-empts Bush's primetime appearance tomorrow in a Washington Post OP-ED entitled, A Strategy for Iraq.

We should urge NATO to create a new out-of-area operation for Iraq under the lead of a U.S. commander. This would help us obtain more troops from major powers. The events of the past week will make foreign governments extremely reluctant to put their citizens at risk. That is why international acceptance of responsibility for stabilizing Iraq must be matched by international authority for managing the remainder of the Iraqi transition. The United Nations, not the United States, should be the primary civilian partner in working with Iraqi leaders to hold elections, restore government services, rebuild the economy, and re-create a sense of hope and optimism among the Iraqi people. The primary responsibility for security must remain with the U.S. military, preferably helped by NATO until we have an Iraqi security force fully prepared to take responsibility.

It is important to note that Kerry has been calling for turning over control of civilian authority in Iraq to the UN for nearly a year now. He also repeats his belief that we must go to the international community and seek support in the form of NATO participation to get more boots on the ground and internationalize the force. He then ends with a poignant note, so lacking in the defensive proclamations of the President over the last few days.

We owe it to our soldiers and Marines to use absolutely every tool we can muster to help them succeed in their mission without exposing them to unnecessary risk. That is not a partisan proposal. It is a matter of national honor and trust.