Posted on 01/17/2007 4:41:38 AM PST by shrinkermd
Both sides' strategies in Iraq are big ifs with big risks. The president's is worth a try.
PRESIDENT BUSH'S plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq has not, to put it kindly, been well received. But does anyone have a better idea?
Should we just declare defeat and go home? Not even most leading Democrats are willing to go that far. At least not yet. Most instead talk of gradually drawing down forces and possibly redeploying them either to Iraq's borders or to other bases in the region. There is something to be said for this strategy. But it also entails huge risks.
If the U.S. is seen as retreating — which is how it would look even if it were labeled "redeployment" — the fragile Iraqi security forces might completely disintegrate...
...It sounds reassuring to say that U.S. forces could be positioned on its borders to "contain" Iraq's civil war, but it's not clear what they would do there. Sure, they could prevent Iranian or Syrian troop formations from entering Iraq...
Such a dire outcome is by no means foreordained if U.S. troops start withdrawing. Perhaps, as some advocates of drawdown suggest, the Iraqi government will succeed in establishing law and order on its own. But that's not the way I'd bet. And that's not the way Bush is betting.
After years of taking a rosy view of the war, he has finally acknowledged that conditions are grim and require more troops. Ironically, he is being pilloried for this stance by many of the same people who have been saying for years that we didn't have enough troops in Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
How about follow the supply lines back to Iran.
If surges didn't work, Patton would still be in North Africa. WWII battles were seldom won in the first wave.
As long as the Rules of Engagement are relaxed as well. Greatly relaxed.
Regards.
It's a poor plan overall; too little troops (should be 30,000 to 50,000 for a 18 months or so) and too late. Things are getting out of hand. Even the Arabs (who are Sunni) told Rice that Bush should talk with Syria and Iran (which is Shiite). Bush is replacing the two top Generals (Abizaid and Casey) who disagreed with him. What does that tell you about his plan? 21,000 troops is not going to make much of a difference one way or another. I suspect this is political cover to buy time with Bush hoping for a miracle.
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