Bush says U.S. will persevere in Iraq, more troops may be deployed
In a not-so-thinly veiled attempt to rally support for his failed Iraq policy, George W. Bush last night attempted to justify staying the course. Yawn...we've heard this speech before....
CARLISLE, Pa. -- President Bush, trying to dispel rising doubts about the war, declared tonight the United States would stay in Iraq until it was free and democratic, but he also said insurgents probably would become "more active and more brutal" and suggested more U.S. soldiers might have to be sent.
He said that the United States would keep its troop level at the current 138,000 as long as necessary but that commanders were constantly reassessing needs. "If they need more troops, I will send them," Bush pledged.
Just for a moment there, I thought I was listening to Richard Nixon justifying the increasing of troop levels in Vietnam. THAT one turned out well, eh?
With nearly 800 U.S. soldiers killed so far in Iraq, Bush warned that the violence would continue.
"There are difficult days ahead and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic," he said.
Five months before the U.S. presidential election, Iraq has helped push down Bush's approval rating to a new low and has increased doubts about his handling of the war.
In response, he outlined five steps that he said would help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom: transferring authority to a sovereign new Iraqi government, helping establish security in areas still gripped by chaos, urging broader international support, reconstructing the country and setting up national elections.
Of course, Bush can't say with any degree of certaintly just who we'll be transferring power to, and we simply don't have enough troops to pacify every hornet's nest. Restructuring the country and setting up national elections presumes that there is both the will and the agreement to do so from all of the various interest groups (Shia, Sunni, Kurd, etc.), which clearly is not the case.
Even a "sovereign" Iraqi government will be sovereign in name only. Americans will still control the military and political structures, and any Iraqi government will have no unilateral authority.
Bush's speech was clearly the effort of a man trying to save face, because he knows that if he admits to making a mistake, he can kiss the election goodbye. The bottom line is that Bush plans on being elected, no matter how many American soldiers have to die to make it happen.
