I realize Halloween was nearly two months ago, but the president's "way forward" is really some scary stuff. The kind of scary that makes you hear Mahler in the background. Stay the course...hmmm...let's call it Choosing Victory instead. (Like we chose this clusterfuck?)
Choosing Victory is the document that started this whole nonsense business of talking about a troop build-up. The report was compiled by Frederick Kagan, a wingnut of the first order who sees this as a Napoleonic struggle.
Of course, he assumes a lot. First, he assumes that the Shia militias will be so pleased with the additional American troops that they will cease fighting. Second, he assumes that the Sunni insurgents will be defeated by emboldened (embiggened?) Iraqi security forces and will radiate out from Baghdad like a pebble tossed into a pond. Third, he assumes that the additional troops to deploy are readilly available, when in reality assembling, training and equipping takes time.
All overtures to diplomacy and dialogue as recommended by the Iraq Study Group are dismissed out of hand as soft-headed and well, just silly. Kagan insists that there is still a military option in Iraq and that option has a name -- "victory." (How this will be achieved is not addressed). If I were a lawyer I would be screaming "Objection! Assertion not in evidence!"
"Victory is still an option in Iraq," it states. "America, a country of 300 million people with a GDP of $12 trillion, and more than 1 million soldiers and marines can regain control of Iraq, a state the size of California with a population of 25 million and a GDP under $100 billion."This left me shaking my head with double-secret incredulity. First incredulous assertion: By that measure, we won in Viet nam. Hell, we didn't even have to go in...France won in Viet Nam. Second incredulous assertion: We have more ipods! Therefore we will win!
Seriously, where did they find these guys? Belleview?
It would be funny if nearly a hundred kids a month weren't dying in Iraq because of lies this president told.
And military strategy developed by people who last put on a uniform in cub-scouts is just fucking tragic.
