[Rhodes22-list] Political: "Winning" the war in Iraq

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

JB,
 
While we may disagree on whether we should be in Iraq in the first place, I  
think we are in violent agreement regarding The Surge.  You say "the surge  is 
the right thing to do, just on a much larger scale" and talk about a troop  
level of 500K.   I'm telling you The Surge is The Surge, it's a  plus-up of 
nominally 40K troops from a baseline of of about 120K troop - that's  what it is, 
it's a matter of record.  I'm reporting that Gen Zinni's number  was 300K+ 
troop.  Without 300K+ (me) to 500K (you) net  troops on the ground you and I 
agree it ain't gonna work - your number OR  my number is far, far beyond The 
Surge  which is about 160K.  
 
So why are we doing this White House sponsored Surge that we both agree is  
insufficient and hence isn't going to work?  Ans: it gives El Prez et al  time 
to get outta town, it's not about winning the war in Iraq.
 
Trust me, once he's out of town the party line will be:
If Iraq ends badly:  It's not Bush's fault, he warned us, he  would have 
handled things differently.
If it ends well:  He's a hero for staying the course through  those difficult 
times.
 
Think of it as a win-win situation for the Administration, if they can just  
stall. They're not trying to win this war - your number and my number both  
lead to that same conclusion.  I think the game is to stall until they  can get 
outta town. Think about it, if they stall they win (they don't win the  war, 
they save their "Legacy", they can spin whatever happens so that they did  the 
right thing).
 
Of course, at a minimum you have to project a couple hundred to a couple of  
thousand young men and women will die or be blown up while The Stall plays  
out,  but that's a small price to pay for Bush et al's "Legacy of  Greatness" 
-right?  
 
Again, you and I both agree that what's going on now is likely insufficient  
to bring the Iraq war to a successful conclusion, so why are we pursuing this  
insufficient Surge?  Don't tell me the Surge should be greater, explain The  
Surge that exists today, for the last year and the next 3 month,  minimum.  
Why are they doing this?  You and I agree it's not  enough.  I think I know why, 
I think it's about Republican politics as I  outlined above.  Why do you 
think we're pursuing a campaign plan that we  both agree is substantially under 
resourced?
 
Dave



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