Iraq again?

I'm not one to give free advice to the Bush Administration or anything, but it's pretty obvious to me that this poll is one of the main problems for them. Well, not the poll itself, but the sentiments expressed in it:

A majority of Americans reject claims by the Bush administration that the insurgency in Iraq is weakening and are divided on whether victory over the insurgents will have a major impact on terrorism elsewhere in the world, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Barely one in five Americans -- 22 percent -- say they believe that the insurgency is getting weaker while 24 percent believe it is strengthening. More than half -- 53 percent -- say resistance to U.S. and Iraqi government forces has not changed.

I say this because I really want to believe that the insurgency is in its "last throes," but there is no real evidence to support that. While the number of attacks may be down, it's more likely a result of effectiveness increasing. Why would you use more resources than necessary to get the job done?

But the Bush administration continues to try and wait it out. And while time is not on their side, endless debate is. If no solution is reaches and the insurgency clears up on its own (and it will eventually, although I doubt Americans will stomach 12 years, and our military wouldn't last, either), then it's a Republican policy that won the day, and the Bush administration was right. If Democrats force their hand into any kind of policy change, Democrats take some of that mantle away.

But of course, the Democrat idea of "therapy" has creeped into the public policy anyway. Atrios points to recent reports that we have begun negotiating with the terrorists, something that was a no-no four years ago and seen as anti-American by the very same people that are currently doing the talking. Go figure on that one.

This to me, however, is another example of why Republicans are perceived by the public as the strong foreign policy people. While Democrats talk and then rock, Republicans attack first and then attempt to work out the mess they've blown up. And here it is working again in all it's splendor.