The article I cited earlier reports that:
By mid-September, Mr. Bush was disappointed with the results in Iraq and signed off on a complete review of Iraq strategy — a review centered in Washington, not in Baghdad.…
This year, decisions on a new strategy were clearly slowed by political calculations. Many of Mr. Bush’s advisers say their timetable for completing an Iraq review had been based in part on a judgment that for Mr. Bush to have voiced doubts about his strategy before the midterm elections in November would have been politically catastrophic.
The translation of these paragraphs is that the President decided to drag out a failed policy, and endangered lives of American troops and Iraqis, in hopes of reaping some small political benefit in the elections.
Speaking of endangering Iraqi lives, the Times also reports that:
With thousands of Iraqis desperately fleeing this country every day, advocates for refugees, and even some American officials, say there is an urgent need to allow more Iraqi refugees into the United States.…
Some critics say the Bush administration has been reluctant to create a significant refugee program because to do so would be tantamount to conceding failure in Iraq. They say a major change in policy could happen only as part of a broader White House shift on Iraq.…
Another interpreter, Amar, who did not want his full name used, went to at least 10 embassies during a trip to Jordan last fall, but found only blank faces. He counts his sacrifice for America in bones and skin. He is missing a finger, an eye and part of his skull, after a large bomb exploded next to his Humvee last year. He has received two threats to his life. Two bodyguards accompany him everywhere. He stays in three different houses to confuse potential attackers.
"They said they have nothing for Iraqis," said Amar, sitting in a small house in western Baghdad. "We feel just like stupid trash."
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Let's put aside the sniping and finger pointing and concentrate on the numbers.
1. In 2003, General Shinsaki says that several hundred thousand troops (I believe that elsewhere he mentioned a figure of 300,000 or more) will be required to provide security after a sucessful invasion. He is overruled by Secretary Rumsfeld who provides 140,000 troops.
2. President Bush apparently is going to propose sending another 25,000 troops.
3. By my math, that will give us 165,000 troops in the ground.
4. By my math, 300,000 - 165,000 still leaves us 135,000 troops short.
So the question, what is the extra 25,000 troops expected to accomplish if it would have required 300,000 or more to provide sufficient security to pacify the country in the first place?
There are actually around 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now, so that yields only 155,000 post-escalation.
Furthermore, based on experience in other peacekeeping/nationbuilding missions, we would need 500,000 troops in order to get the soldier/civilian ratio that has worked elsewhere.
The shortfall is not a mere 135,000, it's closer to 345,000. And there's no guarantee that those troop levels would actually pacify Iraq, even if we had half a million ground troops to commit to Iraq.
Other than that, your point is exactly right.
If you missed "Frontline" last night, and you're concerned about what's going on in Iraq, you must watch "The Dark Side" online at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/
This documentary is what investigative journalism is all about. Too bad it took this long. Frontline tells the whole story of how the "weapons of mass destruction" myth was created, and how George Tenet was pressured and the CIA sidelined by a White House group dedicated to invading Iraq no matter what the facts. Colin Powell is the saddest casualty of this whole misadventure. It was he who was forced to mouthe the White House's lies. But he required that Tenet sit directly behind him in the TV shot, so he would be seen literally "behind" the disinformation, if it turned out to be such.
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There are opportunities for visually and hearing impaired and quadriplegic veterans. Information can be found on site: www.purpleheartfoundation.org Training is as close to real time classes as possible and you cant beat the commute.
To all Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force vets- pass the message on. No vet will be left behind!