When President Bush was re-elected in November, he was given a mandate from the American voters to resolve the chaos in Iraq. But as the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony approaches, the Bush administration has yet to put forward a concrete plan. Casualties, military and civilian, and costs of troop presence on hostile foreign soil this year are rising. Hopes of installing of a sovereign, democratic Iraqi government grow faint as bombs explode and bullet casings ricochet off the pavement.

President Bush has so far declined to set a deadline for removal of American forces from Iraq. He insisted on Sunday that troops will come home as soon as possible, but only when the mission is completed.

Bush correctly believes that pulling the troops out of Iraq now would be irresponsible. The right thing to do would be to keep American troops in Iraqi soil until a central government that can exert full control over its lands emerges.

But the president has yet to explain to his people, or to the rest of the world, what the mission is for the American troops in Iraq. He has spoken of bringing democracy to not only the Middle East, but throughout the globe – and he will repeat this message again on Thursday. This is, albeit idealistic and perhaps Eurocentric, a noble goal. But he offers no roadmap, no starting point and no tangible objectives to fulfill. Abstract words and wispy dreams of spreading liberty can only go so far.

It is clear, considering what has conspired in the past year, that the Bush administration was utterly unprepared for what was to come after the war was won. It insisted that the United States will not engage in nationbuilding, and assured the public and the legislature that Iraq will be able to fund its own way toward reconstruction.

The administration was wrong on both accounts. President Bush says no official should be held accountable for errors in the planning or conduction of the war. That is false. In the end, it is the chief executive and the commander-in-chief, who must bear the burden of the administration’s failures. Too much blood has been shed and too many lives have been ruined.

Bush and his administration were held accountable for its errors and mistakes. Their mandate is to go back and clean up the mess. The endless stream of circumvention, evasion and vagueness must end. The administration must clearly state what it hopes to accomplish in Iraq, then devise a plan with attainable and concrete objectives.

If anything, this administration owes that for to brave men and women who have perished. It must find a way to get the job done, and get the job done right. That is the only way to ensure that the soldiers can return home, and the only way to ensure that they won’t have to go back.