So now Mr. Bush has decided that he will do whatever the generals in the field tell him to do. Why wasn't he listening in 2003 when they all said they needed more troops to keep the peace than to fight the war? Or when they have told him that every year since then? Now he is hiding behind the generals because his failed policies have no chance of succeeding.
What we really need is a political surge, on many fronts. There is no way that this struggle can be won completely by military means alone. We must talk to all sides, we must talk to other countries in the region. Everyone must have a stake in this or it will never succeed.
Mr. Bush played right into Osama's hands when he brought our troops over there. Bush helped not only to get the Arabs to hate us, but much of the rest of the world as well. When I think back to all the good will that was generated around the 9/11 tragedy, and to see now that most of the world hates us more than they have at any time in our 231 year history as a nation, it makes me sick at heart. It will take us a long time to get back to where we were before the Bush debacle.
The other thing that really angered me this week was when Team Bush announced that yes, we would reduce the number of troops by 30,000 by next spring. So what if it just happens to be the same number of troops we sent over last spring for the surge. Why does everyone act like this is some great change of course that is being announced? We will end up where we started, with some minute progress in a few key areas.
Then we get to General Betray-us. According the the right-wing, he could walk on water. But when even he was asked if the fight there is making us safer at home, he replied that he didn't know if it was. That is as close to straight-shooting as he got all week. It just worries me that our military men are now an arm of the political machine. We need an open and honest military that will not take sides in any political debate, but give us the facts on the ground. We also need political leaders who will listen to the advice of those who are fighting the battle, and not only when it suits them (see above).
What a mess Mr. Bush will be leaving to the next president, no matter what party they come from. That will be his legacy, even a hundred years from now.
