Left I on the News

Just a few days ago, Hillary Clinton published a long article in Foreign Affairs magazine outlining what she alleges to be her thoughts on foreign policy ("alleges" because what her actual foreign policy will be if she becomes President may bear little or no resemblance to what she wrote). In that article, she wrote:

We must withdraw from Iraq in a way that brings our troops home safely, begins to restore stability to the region, and replaces military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future. To that end, as president, I will convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretary of defense, and the National Security Council and direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home, starting within the first 60 days of my administration.

So she says that within two months she's going to ask for a plan to withdraw American troops from Iraq (not that they'll be coming home, by the way; she also writes that "The war is sapping our military strength, absorbing our strategic assets, diverting attention and resources from Afghanistan" and that "The forgotten frontline in the war on terror is Afghanistan, where our military effort must be reinforced"). And, even when (if, really) that plan is implemented, it's not as if all the troops will be leaving Iraq:

I will order specialized units to engage in targeted operations against al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorist organizations in the region. These units will also provide security for U.S. troops and personnel in Iraq and train and equip Iraqi security services to keep order and promote stability in the country, but only to the extent that such training is actually working. I will also consider leaving some forces in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq in order to protect the fragile but real democracy and relative peace and security that have developed there.

Is there anything there that isn't precisely what U.S. troops are already doing, or, conversely, is there anything U.S. troops are doing now that isn't covered by those "exemptions"?

So what about the "hope springing eternal"? Today, popular liberal blog Firedoglake is touting "Breaking News: Hillary Pledges to End War 'Immediately' Upon Taking Office." Wow. And on what basis springs this hope? Why, at a fund-raising luncheon, she said "she would end the Iraq war immediately upon taking office." And, believe it or not, all evidence (like the rather significant Foreign Policy article) to the contrary, this was sufficient to cause a swelling in the breasts of the liberals who heard her "promise."

Oy.