We Surge, They Surge, A lot of people die

President Bush presented his latest way forward in Iraq on January 10, 2007. He started by admitting that he had made mistakes in the past. He then went on to claim he knew what went wrong before, and this time he could make the same old plan work.

This “surge,” which will return us to about the same troop strength as a year ago, isn’t going to work any better than the last time. It will just motivate more people to oppose our occupation. A whole lot of people will die before we are forced to admit that this latest push hasn’t worked. Then what do we do? Go for one more push like a gambler in Vegas, or admit that more troops isn’t the answer?

Even if we go along with this one last push to victory, I have a question. Where does the 20,000 number come from? I’d like to know how they came up with that number. Why wouldn’t 15,000 be enough? Why didn’t they choose 30,000 or 300,000? Is there a formula, or did it just sound like a good number. Maybe that’s the limit on how many insurgents could possibly be added. Their estimates have been so reliable in the past.

Sooner or later, we are going to have to try something radical, like admitting that there isn’t a military solution. We are going to have to start talking, and listening, to other countries. It looks like it’s going to be a lot later though. Apparently, Bush still has a few more military options to try out. Attacking Iran is just the ticket to victory.

Out of Iraq - Now

Molly Ivins recent column was a call to action to end the war in Iraq. As my little part, I sent the following letter to my Congressmen.

I am writing to state again my opposition to the Iraq occupation. Our continued presence does nothing but continue the violence. No one wants to live under foreign occupation. The Iraqis are no exception.

We were told that we needed to invade Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction. We found out that they no longer had them. Mission accomplished. It was time to leave.

We were told that we needed to get rid of an evil dictator, although no reason was given for why we should start with this particular evil dictator. Sadam has been hanged. Mission accomplished. It is time to leave.

We are now told that our mission is to create a stable Iraq that is capable of defending itself and participating in the fight against terrorism. Iraq was stable before we invaded. As despotic as Sadam was, he was definitely an enemy of Al Quaeda. Mission accomplished before we started. We could have prevented massive death and misery, and saved billions of dollars by not starting the war.

It is time to stop funding the Iraq occupation. How many more have to die while we decide how to save face? Our military is at the breaking point. Our treasury is bankrupt. There is no face left to be saved.