I really think it is important that the troops in Iraq receive the support they deserve not only from the American people, but also from the current administration. I love this idea!

AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE

By Bill Ferguson Knight Ridder-Newspapers

Every great career eventually comes to an end, and when you're the
president of these United States , you only get eight years (at most) to
accomplish everything you set out to do. Then you're an ex-president for
the rest of your life.

I'll bet that ex-presidents, like most retired people, find it to be
something of a shock to have all that time on their hands when they
leave the working world. So they find things to do. They work on their
memoirs. They build libraries. They give speeches. They support their
favorite charitable causes.

But what about our current president? His term will be up before he
knows it, and then it's back to private life. I'm afraid the transition
will be especially difficult for George W. He is a man of action, and I
worry about how he'll adjust to a life out of the spotlight.

I think that we, as a nation, owe Bush more than the customary parting
gifts of an enormous pension and round-the-clock Secret Service
protection when he leaves office. I think we can do better for him.

I think we should put him to work, and I know just where he ought to go.

Iraq.

There is no question that Iraq will be the legacy of President Bush's
tenure, and there is also no doubt that there will still be a lot of
work to do there when he leaves office. I believe we should allow Bush
an opportunity to stick with the job even after his term expires.


The next president should appoint George W. Bush to be a special envoy
to Iraq and charge him with the responsibility to oversee all American
interests there, advise the new Iraqi government, and maintain the
morale of American troops who are carrying out the war effort.

The position should be a permanent one, and he would not leave until the
"hard work" of helping Iraq to establish a working democratic government
has been accomplished. Or until he leaves this mortal coil. Whichever
comes first.

But surely he needs some trusted advisors by his side at all times, and
the first two names that immediately spring to mind are Dick Cheney and
Don Rumsfeld. These men have been instrumental in the planning and
execution of the Iraq campaign from the beginning, and I can only
imagine how much more effective their work could be if they were onsite
24/7 right where the action is, getting their hands dirty in the cause
of spreading freedom to that dark corner of the world.

I know this assignment would be dangerous. The three senior freedom
fighters would be huge targets for the forces of evil in Iraq , and
there is a real possibility that one or more of them might meet with an
untimely demise in that chaotic environment. But as Bush has reminded us
time and again, the price is high but our cause is just. Freedom is not
free. I expect that all three men would be ready and willing to
undertake their assignments in the battle zone despite the extreme
danger they would face.


This would be a chance to show the world that they are willing to put
their own lives, and not just the lives of others, on the line for what
they know to be right.

So let's start a campaign to send the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld team to Iraq
in 2008. They deserve the opportunity to "finish the job" in Iraq , and
I think that the sight of the three of them tooling around the streets
of Baghdad in a lightly armored Humvee would do a lot to improve the
morale of all Americans.