More Friedman Units:
Troop levels in Iraq would remain nearly the same through 2008 as they have been through most of the five years of war there, under plans presented to President Bush on Monday by the senior American commander and the top American diplomat in Iraq, senior administration and military officials said.
Mr. Bush announced no final decision on future troop levels after the video briefing by the commander, Gen. David H. Petraeus, and the diplomat, Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. The briefing took place on the day when the 4,000th American military death of the war was reported and just after the invasion’s fifth anniversary.
Victory is apparently the status quo. Or maybe not.
demimondian
That should read “The path to a viceroy is clear”, John. Jeebus, get can’t you folks even spel out there?
scarshapedstar
If all we have to do to win is keep doing what we’re already doing… why haven’t we won yet?
ThymeZone
Stay the course. Nice way to observe 4k Day. Because, as Dana Perino pointed out, staying the course is what most of the service parents want Bush to do.
Bush, meanwhile, had other things to worry about.
Happy, happy.
smiley
This is political. They’ve decided to let McCain run on the war status quo so as to draw a greater distinction between him and whoever his opponent will be. It’s going to be all patriotism/support the troops and their mission all the time in the Fall. Rove was quoted the other day saying the war favored McCain. Here you go.
TenguPhule
Damnit Easter Bunny, do your duty!
Kick that drunken fratboy in the junk.
In other News, our military continues to prove the old saying is true; As above, so below.
Sometimes I think it’s amazing China hasn’t just walked in and bought out the place.
Wilfred
This really is the Looking Glass war. So violent clashes threaten to reverse security gains? Don’t they indicate that those gains were as ephemeral as everything else that was claimed to be true?
I’m sure Petraeus will have his ass kissed to high heaven at his next performance but it would be the perfect moment for a real patriot to call him and Bushco on this nonsense.
Dennis - SGMM
There were 120,000 US troops in Iraq when you made that speech , George.
How many are there today, George?
Well, I’ll tell you since you seem to be, um, busy: 158,000 – despite the fact that your sorry-ass, badly conducted war has managed to kill off 4,000 of them, George.
That standing them up thing hasn’t gone so well – has it? Just like everything else – eh, George?
You’re a lying little piece of shit – aren’t you George?
Jen
If you haven’t seen this Spencer Ackerman piece, I recommend it.
The Easter Bunny
Up yours, hippie. George W. Bush is a true patriot and our greatest current President. When Obama surrenders to Canuckistan and the flesh is melting off your bones in a boiling vat of maple syrup, don’t come whining to me.
Peeps (1/2 off post-Easter sale! get ’em while you can!), bitches!
Neal
CNN.com’s lead story at the moment:
“A massive operation by the Iraqi army in Basra could be the defining battle against Shiite militias. Time.com reports that sources in Basra — the hub of Iraq’s oil industry — say fierce fighting has broken out between government forces and militias, including those of radical, anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.”
That’s not good. Take all of our “surge” gains and kiss them goodbye. I’ve been under the impression that if the Sunni “Awakening” faltered or if al-Sadr gave the green light we would be fucked. It looks as though the latter has now officially happened.
LiberalTarian
Good Lord. You would think they are TRYING to start a war with China. Maybe that’s their strategy for getting out of repaying them??
LiberalTarian
D’oh. That’s what you get for reading headlines first … story just came out, but event happened in 2006. I gotta go back and finish grading papers now.
Scrutinizer
Jen—
Thanks. Ackerman was well worth reading. The comments, however—
Neal
I thought the same thing. Even if it was 2006, holy shit!
Dennis - SGMM
According to a report I heard on NPR this morning, al-Sadr’s followers are calling upon him to revoke his self-imposed cease fire. Seems that the Iraqi government, aided by U.S. forces, took advantage of the cease fire to target followers of al-Sadr.
How brilliant is that? The leader of one of the largest militias in Iraq voluntarily declares a cease fire so you do everything you can to make him regret it.
Every time Bushco has a choice between alternatives in Iraq they choose the most catastrophically stupid one.
Scrutinizer
Neal-
From John’s brother Juan this morning:
As you say, it sounds as if al-Sadr has taken off the brakes country-wide. Will our media get the hint that the surge didn’t reduce violence in Iraq, but rather al-Sadr’s ceasefire?
…sound of crickets…
Ed Drone
Turn the Boat Around
(Tune: Yellow Rose of Texas)
Our leader landed on the deck dressed in a soldier suit,
A banner stretched above his head, he looked so doggone cute.
But San Diego could be seen, right there in the background,
So the order soon was given, “Turn the boat around.”
Chorus:
It’s time to turn the boat around, that’s what the people say.
The course our leader’s setting is exactly the wrong way.
The compass reads “disaster,” he’s run us hard aground,
It’s time to fire the skipper, and then turn the boat around.
He claimed that he’d found danger, as plain as white and black,
And the source of all that danger was in far-away Iraq.
Terror, weapons, poison gas, nukular missiles, too,
All waiting, primed and ready, to use on me and you.
So we went in a-shooting, and had ‘em on the run,
With bought-and-paid-for press along, to show us all the fun.
We never found those weapons, the poison gas and such,
And the folks whose land we shot to hell don’t like us very much.
Chorus
“Stay the course,” he told us, but wouldn’t show his map;
He wants complacent citizens to go back to their nap.
To end the war in Iraq, he’s got a cunning plan –
He’ll pull the troops out one fine day – and send them to Iran!
Now, here at home, the policies are tilted toward the rich,
Big tax cuts and deficits, the good old bait and switch!
Our leader loves the rich, and puts the dollars in their fist,
But for the poor, there’s still the war, so they can just enlist!
Chorus
This is the “ship of state,” not another “photo op,”
And when it gets to going, it’s damn-all hard to stop.
But if we can turn a carrier to try to fool the press,
Then we can turn the country ‘round, and get out of this mess.
Chorus
Copyright ©2003, 2006 Bob Clayton & Ed Drone
Dennis - SGMM
You forget The Rules:
Rule #1: If violence decreases, it means that our strategy is working.
Rule #2: If violence increases, it means that the insurgents are getting desperate. Therefor, our strategy is working.
The Other Steve
After the so-called Surge, it was important for the US to draw down troop levels in order to show to Iraqis that we intend on leaving.
There is no good option. It is very possible that should US soldiers leave, Iraqi forces will start in-fighting.
But that’s not our problem, we cannot stop it. We can only postpone it. And there is evidence to suggest the longer we postpone it, the better armed and trained these forces become.
Whatever. It seems that the only reason we’re staying is because if we leave a handful of people will have their feelings hurt because their family died for no reason.
Zifnab
They died for your sins.
Neal
Damn, TOS and I agree.
That’s more or less it. We can stay and postpone the inevitable or we can, for the first time in 5 years, try something new.
I’m thinking something new.
Jen
Took me nearly half an hour to read the piece, I didn’t look at the comments. It was the anti-Balloon Juice in that regard.
Scrutinizer
Oh, they died for lots of reasons. The furtherance of PNAC’s vision of increased US hegemony in the Gulf; oil; getting rid of Saddam (“doing it right this time”); sweetheart deals and no-bid contracts for Haliburton; furtherance of domestic political agendas using the excuse of the unitary executive during wartime; lots of reasons. Just not very good ones, and not a one worth a single life.
Evinfuilt
I wish you were wrong, I so wish you were wrong.
There is a chance, as violence goes up, Bush will blame the early withdrawl of surge troops and ask to commit more.
Dennis - SGMM
I’d bet a good lunch that Bush will blame it on the Democrat’s talking about withdrawing the troops.
croatoan
“To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq’s provinces by November.” — President Bush announcing the surge, January 10, 2007
w vincentz
“The Surge”…looks to be FUBARed.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/25/7877/
w vincentz
also the lead over at Huffington post.
Hart Williams
Hey!
Everything’s fine! CNN and Wuffie Blitzer got it all in hand. They interviewed the pencil necked geek who’s our Iraq Ambassador (Crocker, as in “Crocker of Shit”) and the official spin is that THIS shows the worst case scenario, and what would happen if …
Wait for it …
IF WE LEFT!
Jeebus! Do these weasels ever stop spinning, or is it true that they, like rust, are fatally corrosive to structures and never sleep?
And Wuffie Boy and some Aussie Schmuck named Michael Ware are eating it up with a spoon.
(I don’t get why we don’t have any American reporters actually covering OUR fucking war. It’s always Brits and Aussies, as though an accent somehow makes war crimes palatable).
So there you go, campers: The surge just exploded. This proves that … the SURGE worked! Even when it’s not working.
And, this proves that leaving Iraq at this point is IRRESPONSIBLE!
Ghod Blesh Amerika.
CrazyDrumGuy
Great Success!
Delia
Um . . . I blame the Iranians.
SteveinSC
Richard Engle is US and great, but he can only get on TV some of the time.
Surge=Bribe Sunni tribesman+Take advantage of Sadr’s Cease Fire+30,000 worn-out troops+MSM-complicit bullshit campaign. Yank any one of these out from this house of cards and welcome to today’s news. (Note how the 10 percent of insurgents who were Al Qaeda suddenly became the 100 percent insurgents.)
Soylent Green
President Cheney and his trained monkey never thought they were starting a real war. They thought they were going to (1) knock off Saddam, (2) ink some new oil deals that exclude the French and Russians, (3) now watch this drive. They are opportunists, not warfighters, who only wanted to enrich their buddies in the oil bidness (mission accomplished). After the war didn’t go away as planned, everything they have done since then is punt.
McCain is a true-blue militarist who sees military solutions to every foreign-affairs problem and can’t wait to get his itchy finger back on the bomb-release button. He apparently believes that the neocon master plan will work. While Bush is hapless, McCain is truly dangerous.
Clinton would likely go with the status quo and the Bushco game plan. Shouldn’t Murtha know that?