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.