Guardian: US plan last big push in Iraq (Must Read)

[Norquist Nemesis]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1948748,00.html

Strategy document calls for extra 20,000 troops, aid for Iraqi army and regional summit

Simon Tisdall
Thursday November 16, 2006

President George 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.

Point one of the strategy calls for an increase rather than a decrease in overall US force levels inside Iraq, possibly by as many as 20,000 soldiers. This figure is far fewer than that called for by the Republican presidential hopeful, John McCain. But by raising troop levels, Mr Bush will draw a line in the sand and defy Democratic pressure for a swift drawdown.
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[Jackpine Radical]

1. Pin the Fail on the Monkey.

[filer]

2. I bet they'll "push" back.

Just guessing, of course.
:sarcasm:

[wtmusic]

3. The first war in which a victor has announced when they were gonna win

It's history in the making, folks... :crazy:

[Damndifino]

4. What I don't understand...

...leaving aside the obvious idiocy of this plan, is how 20,000 troops constitute a "big push".

And where does Bush propose finding these extra troops? Behind the fridge? Down between the sofa cushions?

[Nickster]

6. Exactly! An extra 20,000 will make ZERO difference. Remember all that beefing up

around the election time(s) in Iraq? We were right around 160k, up from approx 135k. That was around a 25k increase in troop strength. I didn't see us finishing a damn thing with those extra troops, assuming we can find somewhere to get those troops from.

[Damndifino]

8. The only time extra troops might have helped...

...was during the first weeks of the war. Say ~500,000 troops had been deployed, there might have been enough to secure the whole country and ensure a swift, relatively painless handover. But that, of course, is assuming the existence of an intelligent reconstruction/democratization plan... Yeah, right.

But even if these extra troops are found now - even if ten times that number could be scraped together - it would make not a scrap of difference. The Soviet Union put (IIRC) half a million troops into Afghanistan in the '80s and killed 1,000,000 Afghans, and still failed to "win". The simple truth is that you can't "win" against insurgency. Nobody ever has, nobody ever will.

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. Note that the 20,000 number is what McCain is calling for

Tie that together with the strategy of giving the Republicans time and cover for the 2008 Presidential race and...voila! (It's further down the piece around paragraph 13 or 14).

Point is, you're correct! But that's not what this is about. It's about 2008.

[malaise]

10. Bingo

100% correct. It's McCainspeak for 2008.

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. Yep! Part of the deal in the works for the Torture Bill.

Rove: "Just think, John. We're simply setting the foundation for you to have all of the tools you need to be a strong President! How can you be against that?"

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. Paragraph 13 or 14 spells out the reason: Politics for 2008

"The "last push" strategy is also intended to give Mr Bush and the Republicans "political time and space" to recover from their election drubbing 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."

[magellan]

5. We've already aided the Iraqi army

14,000 lost weapons, isn't it? And let's not forget the months-bleed-into-years of training and the new uniforms.

Isn't it finally time we aided the Iraqi PEOPLE.

[Ms. Clio]

12. Another "last big push"

didn't they just have one of those?