Bush and Rummy planning an exit strategy?

Do they see the writing on the wall? Do they see the number of casualties that are going to happen between now and the election next November? It's a terrible choice for them to have to make. Yes, they said they would not leave until the nation had been stabilized and a new government formed. However, there is an election to win...
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1107/p11s03-cods.html

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Exit strategy now on table

By Daniel Schorr

With the election just about a year off and public support for American involvement in Iraq waning, the Bush administration has begun searching for an exit strategy that will not further destabilize that beleaguered country.

The administration continues to rule out sending US reinforcements. Instead it's studying a phased withdrawal of troops, to be replaced by a newly reconstituted Iraqi Army - an idea vaguely reminiscent of the Nixon plan to "Vietnamize" the war in Vietnam.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes a Pentagon official saying, "We should turn this over to someone else and get out as fast as possible." At the moment, this is mainly military talk. But political advisers must be considering how it will look as the campaign heats up if US troops are bogged down and suffering casualties...

...more

(edited for link)

That 87 billion is also going to buy enough band aids that Iraq will appear to be a more successful venture than it is now. The pull out will be made to look more victorious than it is, too.

IF he can come up with some way to cover his ass while he does.

They will do their best to shrink down our troop presence as soon as they can. The question is whether or not the jihadists and the popular resistance will let them. It'll look real bad for the US if our troops are forced out under fire.

I would expect some "strong man" to arise who the Bushoids could push as Iraq's George Washington, give him the reins of power, and then have him allow us to depart before he reestablishes a one party state along the lines of Saddam's.

As long as we don't "lose" Iraq before the next inaugeration things should just work out fine for Dubya and the boys.

I've seen several newscats in the past couple months that indicate that scenario is likely.

I've seen several newscats in the past couple months

i've heard of news hounds but newscats? what will they think of next ???

but, I meant newscasts.

The most feasible exit strategy that I can think of right now at this moment, that would be most benificial to all. Would be for Bu$h*t and his whole corporate criminal cabinet to board a rocket heading straight into the sun! X-it stage right.

too many Americans have died already and many more will die ... and far too much money has been spent ... even if they caught Hussein, the war is unlikely to be a political plus for bush ... the American people are rapidly tiring of the obvious wrongness of bush's policies in Iraq ...

i see the excessive $87 billion as a final payment to "certain corporate allies" ... "sorry guys, our position has become untenable but we did get you a massive lumpsum payoff ..." ... democrats (more than 75% of democratic senators) were foolish to support this funding ... all the talk of the White House providing an accounting will never happen ... we'll be out of there before the time for accounting is upon us ...

so, what's the plan ... bush has to win "peace with honor" ... he can't acknowledge failure or he's toast ... so, guess what? "We won !!! and the Iraqis won !! thanks to the steadfast determination of our visionary president, Ambassador Bremer and our heroic military have been able to complete their mission of peace and freedom well ahead of schedule ..."

and the timetable ... i don't think they can let this run too much longer ... they can't end things now though ... it wouldn't have a prayer of being credible ... but they also can't chance having this madness persisting too close to election day ... my guess is they start laying the groundwork in another two or three months ... by april or may, we're down to a small military taskforce and a few dozen advisors ...

to counter this foolishness, the democrats need to start laying their own groundwork ... they need to clearly and regularly state what "success in Iraq will look like" ... we cannot allow bush to escape his own trap with a bunch of pretty words ... otherwise, bush gets out of the mess he created with no worse than a draw ... and that would be a huge political loss for the democrats ... bush must be held responsible for his colossal failures in Iraq ...

They won't pull out until they have bled us completely dry. We have no idea where our tax dollars are really going. Of course some go to their cronies but where else.

there's one small contingency called O I L. Iraq has proven reserves of over 1 trillion gallons of easy-to-pump, nice oil. They have the world's #2 largest supply of the stuff (second only to Saudi Arabia). If the US pulls out, what will happen to the oil? My guess is that Russia will move in quickly, establish some kind of "governing council" and get the oil moving due north, rather than west as it does now.

I wish we could get out of there, ASAP, like Stan Goff says. I have also read that the PNAC calls the US a "benevolent dictator" meaning, it's a dictator, but it's really a good guy. They actually use this to justify their world ambitions, like basically taking over the whole world.

We all know they're nuts, too.