Withdrawal? How about more troops?
Remember last week when Bush was acting all conciliatory in his press conference. Remember how happy everyone was when he fired Rumsfeld. The feeling was that maybe we’d begin to see a new course take place in Iraq. Well it looks like Bush is going to take a new course, one that could be worse than the one we are in now. The Guardian’s lead article today is US Plan Last Big Push in Iraq. Using some recommendations from the Iraq Study group, the four main points are:
1. Increase U S troop levels by up to 20,000 to secure Baghdad and allow redeployments elsewhere in Iraq.
2. Focus on regional cooperation with international conference and/or direct diplomatic involvement of countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
3. Revive reconciliation process between Sunni, Shia and others.
4. Increased resources from Congress to fund training and equipment of Iraqi security forces.
So instead of a troop reduction, Bush wants to send 20,000 more troops to Iraq. Who knows where he’ll find these extra troops, maybe they are between his couch cusions or in his pants pockets that are at the cleaners. If he gets these troops from the National Guard let’s hope there aren’t any natural disasters in the US anytime soon. Maybe Bush can get the troops out of Korea, there’s not like there’s anything happening over there.
They want to get Kuwait and Saudi Arabia more involved in Iraq, meaning they want these countries to contribute some money to the cause. What they really don’t want to do is get Iran and Syria involved. This Washington Post article, As Pressure for Talks Grows, Iran and Syria Gain Leverage; shows that after years of ignoring them or being actively hostile to them, if we go to them now, both countries will see it as a victory for them and will want something from the US, something the administration doesn’t want to give. The situation is so bad in Iraq that the administration might have to talk to them anyway. It would seem at least to us that it is in Iran and Syria’s interest to help stabilize Iraq but they might see that appearing to assist the US might be more dangerous to them. With all the great work we’re doing in Iraq, who can blame them.
The administration has to create a political framework so that the Shia, Sunni and other religious and political groups can work together in Iraq. The administration hopes this will persuade foreign countries to get involved in Iraq and will persuade the Iraqi people that this is all worthwhile. One of the things Bush is willing to sacrifice is establishing a western style democracy in Iraq, one of his excuses for invading and occupying Iraq.
To do all this Congress will have to allocate more money to this enterprise. Bush has been listening to Henry Kissinger and believes that this is a matter of political will. He still believes he can win in Iraq and he’s not letting little things like "facts" change his mind. He thinks he has about a year to make it work. So basically we’ll be sinking more money and sending more troops to Iraq to be killed so Bush can enforce his "will". He’s going to use the Iraq study group to buy him and the Republicans more time to regroup before the 2008 elections. I await to see how the new House and Senate leadership will respond to this.
1. Increase U S troop levels by up to 20,000 to secure Baghdad and allow redeployments elsewhere in Iraq.
2. Focus on regional cooperation with international conference and/or direct diplomatic involvement of countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
3. Revive reconciliation process between Sunni, Shia and others.
4. Increased resources from Congress to fund training and equipment of Iraqi security forces.
So instead of a troop reduction, Bush wants to send 20,000 more troops to Iraq. Who knows where he’ll find these extra troops, maybe they are between his couch cusions or in his pants pockets that are at the cleaners. If he gets these troops from the National Guard let’s hope there aren’t any natural disasters in the US anytime soon. Maybe Bush can get the troops out of Korea, there’s not like there’s anything happening over there.
They want to get Kuwait and Saudi Arabia more involved in Iraq, meaning they want these countries to contribute some money to the cause. What they really don’t want to do is get Iran and Syria involved. This Washington Post article, As Pressure for Talks Grows, Iran and Syria Gain Leverage; shows that after years of ignoring them or being actively hostile to them, if we go to them now, both countries will see it as a victory for them and will want something from the US, something the administration doesn’t want to give. The situation is so bad in Iraq that the administration might have to talk to them anyway. It would seem at least to us that it is in Iran and Syria’s interest to help stabilize Iraq but they might see that appearing to assist the US might be more dangerous to them. With all the great work we’re doing in Iraq, who can blame them.
The administration has to create a political framework so that the Shia, Sunni and other religious and political groups can work together in Iraq. The administration hopes this will persuade foreign countries to get involved in Iraq and will persuade the Iraqi people that this is all worthwhile. One of the things Bush is willing to sacrifice is establishing a western style democracy in Iraq, one of his excuses for invading and occupying Iraq.
To do all this Congress will have to allocate more money to this enterprise. Bush has been listening to Henry Kissinger and believes that this is a matter of political will. He still believes he can win in Iraq and he’s not letting little things like "facts" change his mind. He thinks he has about a year to make it work. So basically we’ll be sinking more money and sending more troops to Iraq to be killed so Bush can enforce his "will". He’s going to use the Iraq study group to buy him and the Republicans more time to regroup before the 2008 elections. I await to see how the new House and Senate leadership will respond to this.
posted by kbear | 3:44 PM
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