All the Kings Horses

The forecast is the President will add more troops into Iraq, twenty or thirty thousand more, and where will they come from? Why we will just extend the tours of current soldiers reminiscent of Catch 22. In World War two however the soldiers knew point blank, you don’t go home until this is over. I wonder psychologically what the affect of telling men your going home in March then September then March again. I remember working at a place once where they would ask for workers on Saturday on Friday afternoon. If they’d just been honest and asked on Wednesday who can work Saturday?

I think there is still much misunderstood about the President, when this war began it was generally believed that he was but a pawn and that a powerful troika of ideologs controlled him. Then as the popularity of the war began to wane as each General would retire and come out in opposition to the war the lens began to focus in that this was in fact Bushes war and a very personal affair to boot.

But the November elections brought things even more into focus with the departure of Rumsfeld. Many assumed that this might be a sign that the President was amenable to a change of strategy and willing to work with the Democrats. But as Rumsfeld began to speak about his plans it appeared that it was the opposite that was true. Rumsfeld was speaking of a change in strategy, or was he lying? Or was he fired not as a political sacrifice but for disagreeing with the king?

The when the Iraq study group issued it’s report crafted by daddy’s hand picked henchman the President treated it with all the attention of a critique by Michael Moore.
Maybe the President didn’t understand that the Iraq study group was his chance to save face or maybe he doesn’t want to save face or maybe he doesn’t want to save face if daddy does it for him. Like a lost motorist he is unwilling to accept that he made a wrong turn he hopes to persevere down the wrong road hoping to connect with the right path eventually.

Here in is the problem, where was the mistake made? And can it ever be corrected by following the wrong road? If you swat a strange pit bull on the nose with a newspaper can your problem be corrected by swatting him again and yet again or will it just make the problem worse? Unlike the lost driver the damage has been done like Colin Powell’s now famous pottery barn analogy. We’ve grabbed a beehive from the tree we have two choices continue to be stung by it or drop it and run.

Neither choice is appealing, neither choice is politically popular but that’s where you end up when you refuse to follow the map or the people with more experience in how to get there. You find yourself painted into the corner with unpleasant choices to make. It is never easy for a politician to sound retreat and only those with the mettle of greatness can do it. Custer couldn’t do it, Nixon couldn’t do it but like most modern politicians he put a 1984 spin on it losing is winning Vietnmisation, we will stand down when the Iraqi’s stand up but it is all the same game were not winning but we are not losing either.

That statement by the President says more about the man than the situation it is akin to the lost driver claiming, we are not lost were taking a short cut. An obvious lie by a stubborn man unwilling to accept the truth, willing to continue down the wrong road rather than admit he’s lost and now he’s angry about it. The execution of Saddam during a holiday was more about Bush than Saddam as the stories of the Iraqis asking for more time. Imagine a Christian leader executed on Easter Sunday can anyone believe this was an Iraqi idea?

So now the plan is to add twenty to thirty thousand more troops to Iraq, I ask you if Col. Travis had twenty more men at the Alamo would it have changed the outcome? How about if Custer had fifty more men available would it have changed anything? During the Vietnam War the US had half a million troops in country and yet we couldn’t win would fifty thousand more have made any difference? So we’ve dropped the jug at the pottery barn are choices are run for it or pay for it and help sweep up.

We can’t just run for it they say, what about the poor Iraqi’s? Six hundred thousand dead and now they worry about the poor Iraqi’s When you’ve grabbed the beehive from the tree do you worry about the well being of the bees? Or is the true concern over not being able to get their honey if you let go? Neither choice allows us to keep the Iraqi honey and we have made commitments and contracts we have sold oil fields we don’t control let alone rightfully own. So it then becomes a question of pride, will the failed Texas oilman fail again? Or will he fight to the last drop of someone else’s blood to prove two or more wrongs can indeed make a right, and that you can indeed get to the right destination by the wrong road.

Thanks for your post-I think you've said it all.