What Is The Mission, Joe?

I’ll make this question as simple as I can for today.

I read the latest from Joe Klein, and that is what kept occurring to me over and over again (defined by this excerpt)...

Mission is a sacred word in the military. When you are given a mission, you are trained to complete it, to keep on trying new tactics until the objective is achieved. It is a matter of duty and honor. And so, when politicians criticize a mission, the reflexive military reaction is to assume they are acting dishonorably, putting politics above duty.

These are noble sentiments worthy of our respect. However, in the context of the Iraq war, I don't understand exactly what "the mission" is.

Could it be one of the following:

- Patrol the streets of Baghdad focusing on insurgent “hotbeds” (by the way, in this story, Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bleichwehl points out that there are “multiple missions”).

- Try to figure out why we’ve lost five military helicopters in Iraq so far this year?

- Make colleges in Baghdad safe for the student population again?

- Come clean in the friendly fire death of a British soldier?

- Try to stem the tide of refugees pouring out of Iraq?

I’m sure if I pondered this long enough, I could come up with other questions about “the mission” that you should answer, Joe, but I think these are enough for now.

And given the fact that you still continue to obfuscate on exactly what it is that’s at stake here, I don’t see where you get the right to criticize fellow Iraq war enabler Joe Lieberman (and not ruling out using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran here shows that you really haven’t learned from your somewhat hesitant cheerleading on Iraq, have you?).

(By the way, I'm sure Cpl. Jennifer Parcell was able to determine "the mission," and we should remember her as much as we are currently remembering a rich, troubled blonde who died as well, leaving behind a young daughter whose parentage is in question along with a boatload of money.)