Katrina vanden Heuvel: A Surge of Insanity (The Nation)

BLOG | Posted 05/09/2007 @ 12:50pm
A Surge of Insanity


Just one day after a majority of Iraqi lawmakers rejected the continuing occupation of their country, the Washington Post reports that the Pentagon will begin deploying 35,000 soldiers in 10 Army combat brigades to Iraq in August --"making it possible to sustain the increase of US troops there until at least the end of this year."

It turns out that the "short-term surge" is just another way of saying a war without mission or end. If it's true what the LA Times reported about Secretary of Defense Robert Gates not being on board with the "surge" policy, then who's pushing for this new policy? Not former Generals like John Batiste and Paul Eaton who, today, go on the air in a TV ad sponsored by VoteforVets.org. "You did not listen, Mr. President," General Batiste says in the ad. "You continue to pursue the failed strategy that is breaking our great Army and Marine Corps."

You'd think that a significant development involving more than half of the members of Iraq's parliament signing a legislative petition calling on the US to set a timetable for withdrawal would get some media attention. But with the exception of Alternet's story, it went virtually unreported in the US media. Instead, the New York Times devoted a front page story to Iraq's national security adviser trolling the halls of Congress trying to persuade American lawmakers to have more patience and remain as occupiers in his land. Nor have we seen front page stories reporting that in a March poll, sixty-nine percent of Iraqis surveyed said the presence of US forces in their country make the overall security situation worse.

The Iraqi Parliamentarian's courage should give Democrats the spine to stand firm --and the strength to play hardball with a President who smears those who seek a speedy end to this occupation. "Confronting Mr. Bush on Iraq,' Paul Krugman wrote, "has become a patriotic duty.'" .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=193660

in addition to the other dimensions of this disaster (and there are many) Bush's folly and stubborness have resulted in wrecking our ground forces, both Army and Marines. Like the post-Vietnam experience, it will take a generation to rebuild them. The only silver lining is that no President in decades to come will be tempted to repeat such a stupidity.

of is..the fascist forces(rw pundits/corporatemedia) have said Clinton is the reason the Soldiers' numbers are down. WE-LL, why did the deceiver start a War On Iraq then? Didn't plan very well, did he?

OR are they just lying their genocidal heads off again?