Hendrik Hertzberg gets at something important in McCain's comments the other night. Asked when we'd be in Iraq until, McCain didn't really give any goals, save security. And after security was achieved we'd be in an open-ended deployment, much as we are in South Korea. As Hertzberg puts it:
McCain's wants to stay in Iraq until no more Americans are getting killed, no matter how long it takes and how many Americans get killed achieving that goal—that is, the goal of not getting any more Americans killed. And once that goal is achieved, we'll stay.He'll see your fifty years and raise you fifty. But the cards are blank.
