President George W. Bush has reason for vetoing Congress's bill for funding our troops in Iraq: he cannot sign any bill that contains a timeline for withdrawal of those troops because that would "send a message" to our enemies — a message that they need only pull in their horns and wait for a while, and then they will have a free hand.
Bad news, George. Whatever we do sends a message.
Case in point. Some days ago our enemies ambushed an American patrol, killed four members, and "kidnapped" (1) three. Our army's immediate response was to assign a thousand or so men to scour the countryside seeking our soldiers. They've not yet found them, and are still on the job.
And the message? If you "kidnap" an American soldier or two — note: you need neither torture nor kill them, just put them away somewhere safe for a week or two — you will effectively tie down a thousand or so American soldiers, taken away from the main battle against the insurgency to search for our missing soldiers.
Unfortunately, such messages are unavoidable; they are an intrinsic part of our policy ("No one left behind"). In effect, everything you do sends a message. The other side need only decipher it to be able to take advantage of it.