US Plans Last Big Push in Iraq
by Pamela LeaveyLast week the people spoke, but George W. Bush still isn’t listening. In denial and defiant, the Guardian U.K. reports that “Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make “a last big push” to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning a troop withdrawal next year, he may increase US forces by up to 20,000 soldiers, according to sources familiar with the administration’s internal deliberations.”
Mr Bush’s refusal to give ground, coming in the teeth of growing calls in the US and Britain for a radical rethink or a swift exit, is having a decisive impact on the policy review being conducted by the Iraq Study Group chaired by Bush family loyalist James Baker, the sources said.
Although the panel’s work is not complete, its recommendations are expected to be built around a four-point “victory strategy” developed by Pentagon officials advising the group. The strategy, along with other related proposals, is being circulated in draft form and has been discussed in separate closed sessions with Mr Baker and the vice-president Dick Cheney, an Iraq war hawk.
A brief of the Four-point strategy is as follows:
· Increase US troop levels by up to 20,000 to secure Baghdad and allow redeployments elsewhere in Iraq
· Focus on regional cooperation with international conference and/or direct diplomatic involvement of countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
· Revive reconciliation process between Sunni, Shia and others
· Increased resources from Congress to fund training and equipment of Iraqi security forces
The word is from the Guardian U.K., that Bush’s “last push” strategy is intended to give Bush and the GOP “political time and space” to recover from the ‘thumpin’ and “prepare for the 2008 presidential campaign, the official said.”
“The Iraq Study Group buys time for the president to have one last go. If the Democrats are smart, they’ll play along, and I think they will. But forget about bipartisanship. It’s all about who’s going to be in best shape to win the White House.
The official added: “Bush has said ‘no’ to withdrawal, so what else do you have? The Baker report will be a set of ideas, more realistic than in the past, that can be used as political tools. What they’re going to say is: lower the goals, forget about the democracy crap, put more resources in, do it.”
Oh and lest we forget who’s feeding Bush advice… Henry Kissinger:
“You’ve got to remember, whatever the Democrats say, it’s Bush still calling the shots. He believes it’s a matter of political will. That’s what [Henry] Kissinger told him. And he’s going to stick with it,” a former senior administration official said. “He [Bush] is in a state of denial about Iraq. Nobody else is any more. But he is. But he knows he’s got less than a year, maybe six months, to make it work. If it fails, I expect the withdrawal process to begin next fall.”
Need more… General Warns of Risks in Iraq if G.I.’s Are Cut
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This is absurd…………Americans have to do something about this NOW before the idea gets traction. We need to get a hold of our Rep’s and Senators before this breaks and tell them we can no longer send more troops into this civil war which our own generals say cannot be solved militarily. If contacting doesn’t work, IMHO we’ll have to take matters into our own hands (EG- march on DC).
Javelin,
Did you notice Abiazad’s about face? After weeks, months, etc of saying it can’t be won militarily and we need to get the troops out of the danger zones, he went before Congress this week and told them it would be dangerous to take them out. I think somebody got to him.
No, I didn’t catch it. The administration and the military command say so much that I can’t accept that I have to admit it’s all just a blur anymore.
An about face I DID notice today was on Ed Schultz. I didn’t get to hear Hillary but caught Ed recapping it. It sounds like she said that we ought to have a summit with all the middlke eastern nations, INCLUDING Iran and Syria……WTF x 4 !!!!!!!!
I get so sick and tired of these pols all saying “No way” when JK proclaims something, and sure as sh^T 6 months later they end up with the same mantra like it’s some fresh idea (and their own). Fiengold and Kerry only got 13 votes out of 45 dem senators (that means they only convinced 11) to specify a withdrawal by July 2007. NOW, after the elections, almost every Dem is talking about a “phased withdrawal” in the next 4-6 months…. If I were JK I’d be just livid with a lot of this, victory or not.
A little off topic, I really wish the Senator would start becoming more active again. I think the longer he stays off the trail the harder it’s going to be to get people out of this “funk” they’re in.
Javelin,
Well, I think that was a media BS trick again. If he said it, it was they needed more troops in Afghanistan, which makes sense and more people would agree with.
Now on the current situation and JK. Trent Lott’s return to power was covered by one of the media in some depth. He did the grunt work again, made a lot of personal, below the radar contacts and basically called everyone personally the last week. JK has similar options, but especially among the new members and others he campaigned for. Continuing those contacts and making appearances before groups like the teachers may be a good way to continue to expand his support and let the joke fade from memory.
I hear that JK will be on Fox News Sunday this weekend to talk about among other things, ‘the joke’. The aught to be interesting, and to be it at Fox – I guess if he can crack that crowd, he can go anywhere.
That said – and I never say this – Bill O’Reilly has actually be very fair with JK over the whole thing. No kidding! O’Reilly?! B.O. (I like it) didn’t pile on at the time of the joke and actually said he knew what JK was trying to convey.
With that thought, perhaps the interview will be, “Fair and Balanced”. Then again, maybe not.