I recently saw some video from one of the 2000 Presidential debates between Al Gore and George W. Bush. There was one question in particular that stood out to me in an ironic sort of a way.

When you match his answer up to his actions and decisions regarding the Iraq War, he doesn't score so well.

The first condition for using United States force is whether it is in our vital national interest. It has since been proven that Iraq has no connection with 9/11, and that Iraq had no weapons of mass drestruction... so it looks like this is strike one.

Second, he mentions whether the mission is clear. It is my belief that our mission is NOT so clear ever since May 1, 2003 when President Bush stood on the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared "Mission Accomplished." Strike two, Mr. President.
And remember... you are grading yourself.

The third thing he mentions is the only point he gets right; that our military is trained and ready to fight. Lock, stock, ready to roll; Follow Me to Victory.

The last condition listed is a requirement of an exit strategy. Need I comment on this?

Here's the excerpt. Full transcript can be found at: http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000a.html

MODERATOR: New question. How would you go about as president deciding when it was in the national interest to use U.S. force, generally?

BUSH: Well, if it's in our vital national interest, and that means whether our territory is threatened or people could be harmed, whether or not the alliances are -- our defense alliances are threatened, whether or not our friends in the Middle East are threatened. That would be a time to seriously consider the use of force. Secondly, whether or not the mission was clear. Whether or not it was a clear understanding as to what the mission would be. Thirdly, whether or not we were prepared and trained to win. Whether or not our forces were of high morale and high standing and well-equipped. And finally, whether or not there was an exit strategy. I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place. So I would take my responsibility seriously. And it starts with making sure we rebuild our military power. Morale in today's military is too low. We're having trouble meeting recruiting goals. We met the goals this year, but in the previous years we have not met recruiting goals. Some of our troops are not well-equipped. I believe we're overextended in too many places. And therefore I want to rebuild the military power. It starts with a billion dollar pay raise for the men and women who wear the uniform. A billion dollars more than the president recently signed into law. It's to make sure our troops are well-housed and well-equipped. Bonus plans to keep some of our high-skilled folks in the services and a commander in chief that sets the mission to fight and win war and prevent war from happening in the first place.