So, what IS the plan?

Bush is saying mean things about Democrats who want to set goals for ending the occupation of Iraq.

"We will complete the mission and I will make my judgments as to the troop levels necessary to achieve victory, not based upon political polls or focus groups, but based upon the measured judgment of our commanders on the ground," Bush said at a fund-raiser for Republican Sen. Jim Talent (news, bio, voting record) of Missouri.

"Make no mistake about it, there is a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done," Bush said. "They are willing to wave the white flag of surrender and if they succeed the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off."

Bush vowed to "defeat the enemy," and said the United States had a plan for victory.

So, what is the plan? More of the same?

That's not a plan. It's more of the same. It's more dead Americans. It's more dead Iraqis. It's more billions upon billions upon billions of dollars.

Bush says we can't end the occupation until the mission is complete. What is the mission? Is it a Jeffersonian democracy on the banks of the Euphrates? How long will that take? Is it training enough Iraqi troops to take over the security of their own country? The Iraqi troops we have trained have begun killing American soldiers. What's the plan to turn that around?

I hope the next time Bush uses the expression "complete the mission" within earshot of one or more reporters, someone thinks to ask, "What is the mission, Mr. President?"

Until he can answer that question, nothing else he says about Iraq means anything.