The Decider has decided. He is sending more troops to Iraq. The Washington Post reports:
"I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops -- the Army, the Marines," Bush said in the Oval Office session. "And I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea."
Not quite the "Let's roll!" and "Mission Accomplished" rush to action with laser-like focus which got us in Iraq in the first place -but, hey, he's our "W".
But enough of the past, what about 2008? John McCain has been considered a GOP front runner since Rove "spun" him out of South Carolina. But 2008 finds him in a very awkward space. He has already stated his support for raising troop levels in Iraq. With Bush's plan to continue to add troops, McCain is making his foreign policy strategy synonymous with Bush's.
While I respect McCain for differing from the masses, the fact is the 2006 election proved the vast majority of Americans are not interested in a larger commitment to Iraq. It is a tough sell when you have been wrong for the last 5 years - specifically trying to convince 275 million people that somehow something new will happen.
McCain may have had some initial support from the press' man love for him in 2000 - but 2000 is a long time ago. And the "W" foreign policy record is ... Christ, what's the word?
5 comments:
McCain continues to disappoint.
I wonder...does there seem to be an idea that we could have won Vietnam if we simply had more troops? Is this some sort of move, on McCain's part, to undo one of the blackest spots on our own foreign policy and military action past? It's just that this renewed vigor and vehemence we get from McCain seems to smack of something other than being President.
I think his campaign announcement will consist of the big speech from Rambo II. "Do we get to win this time?"
Or Rocky IV: If I can change, maybe we all can change.
(Or something like that.)
Of course, he's changing in the wrong direction. He'll be declaring himself The Decider by St. Patrick's Day.
McCain — from Straight Talk Express to straight thinking repress.
Bush wants more troops because, belatedly, he doesn't want his legacy to be that he broke the military. Also, it's a big-headline move that buys more time for a war he thinks is winnable if we just don't quit.
I'm not sure what McCain thinks, except that he wants the support of right-wing hawks.
Building up the Army with 70,000 more troops won't happen overnight. Two or three years is more like it. Meanwhile, Iraq is at a point where no amount of U.S. troops could win it. All they can do is delay the inevitable, which is going to be ugly.
I think Bush just killed McCain's cover on the war.
In my mind McCain wanted more troops because he thought they would never do it. Once the war really went to shit McCain could go aorund saying "If they just put in more troops like I said, we would have won."
Now Bush will put in more troops, the war will continue to be a disaster and McCain's plan will look like shit, just like Bush.
I say good. Despite the media and some Democrats going ga-ga over McCain, I think his moderate positions are just an act and he's just as full of shit as the rest of the Republicans.
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