Kerry's position on Iraq - A mystery wrapped in a flip-flop

Democrats will criticize President Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq but, to his credit, Bush has made his position crystal-clear and open for debate. On the other side, after a year-and-a-half of conflict, insurrection and progress, nobody can figure out where John Kerry stands with regard to Iraq. Here’s the lead editorial in the Washington Post today:

The agonizing difficulties in Iraq give rise to two legitimate questions: Was the war a mistake, and what is to be done now? The second is the more vital, but both are important subjects for the campaign. President Bush has unambiguous answers. He believes the war was right and necessary, and he maintains that his plan of training Iraqi forces while facilitating elections will help Iraq move toward stability and democracy. Both positions are subject to challenge, and we will be returning to them in future editorials. But it isn't clear where Sen. John F. Kerry stands on either point.

Roll Call’s Mort Kondracke echoes this bafflement with his article today “Confusion Reigns About What Kerry Would Do in Iraq”

What's missing from Kerry's speeches is any declaration that "we've got to win this war" or "we'll stay 'til we prevail." Americans may be dubious about whether the Iraq war was "worth it" - but they certainly don't want to lose it. That's why they trust Bush more than Kerry.

Why wouldn’t they? Nobody has the slightest idea where John Kerry stands on arguably the most important issue facing the nation today.

[Cross-posted on Blogs for Bush]