Bush digs in at pivotal point in Iraq war

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12/4/6 | Carolyn Lochhead

[SmithL]

Politically weakened president gives no signs of altering course

-- Events in Washington this week -- confirmation hearings beginning Tuesday for designated Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the release Wednesday of findings by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group -- bear all the markings of a turning point in the Iraq war.

But like the war itself, now 3 1/2 years long, the shift is likely to prove a slow and agonizing slide toward an inevitable retreat, rather than the decisive pullout many voters thought they might get last month when they handed Democrats control of Capitol Hill.

As politically weakened as President Bush is, as open to fresh eyes as he said his nomination of Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld indicated, and as much political cover as the Iraq Study Group offers, Bush seems to be digging in.

Twice last week he declared his intention to "accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren."

After a meeting in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush dismissed the Iraq Study Group's expected recommendations for a gradual U.S. troop withdrawal with, "This business about a graceful exit just simply has no realism to it whatsoever."

In appearances on the Sunday morning news programs, the White House's national security adviser was equally emphatic: "That isn't graceful withdrawal. That's cut and run," Stephen Hadley told NBC. "And ... as the president's said, cut and run is not his cup of tea."

How long Bush can maintain that position, even as Iraqi society and his political and military leverage continue to disintegrate, remains to be seen. Bush is commander in chief and has enormous, but not unlimited, power to conduct foreign policy.

[SmithL]

Consider the source

[Paloma_55]

The media is in a full court press right now.

The LEAK of the Rumsfield memo was discussed this morning with Matt Lauer talking to John Murtha. One of the options discussed by Rumsfield was similar to a demand made by Murtha...Lauer takes and concludes that Rumsfield agreed with Murtha (who by the way went much further and called for troops to be moved to Okinawa)

The media thinks that withdrawal/failure is within their grasp and they are going full blast for it.

[JamesP81]

Leftie whining. Clearly, something needs to change in Iraq, but headlong retreat doesn't seem to be the best idea.

The problem is that we didn't conquer and break Iraq the way we did Germany and Japan in WW2. We rebuilt both nations and gave them a democratic government (a tradition that Japanese didn't have, but have done just fine with) with the understanding that if they misbehaved, our guys were coming out of their bases to burn, pillage, and destroy until they behaved. Germany and Japan had no doubt that we'd do those things. Al Sadr knows for a fact that we won't because it's not PC to do so. If we can shake off the PC shackles, this battle can be won in weeks or months.

[saganite]

rather than the decisive pullout many voters thought they might get last month when they handed Democrats control of Capitol Hill.


Retreat is seen as decisive action by the left.