Holiday over, Bush set to wrestle with Iraq policy

[rodeodance]

it has been 7 weeks since the election. He and Congress should NOT have gone on vacation!


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070101/pl_nm/usa_iraq_dc

Holiday over, Bush set to wrestle with Iraq policy

By Glenn Somerville Mon Jan 1, 3:59 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Back from a weeklong Texas vacation,
President George W. Bush wrestles with a decision on a new strategy for
Iraq in the face of hostile Democrats in control of Congress and signs of growing unhappiness among some military personnel.


A day after the U.S. death toll in Iraq passed 3,000, the president and first lady
Laura Bush arrived back in Washington on Monday afternoon from his Crawford, Texas, ranch. They stopped briefly at the White House before going to Capitol Hill where the body of former President Gerald R. Ford lay in state.

But overtures of a storm to come over a strategy shift on Iraq already were present in a poll published by Military Times, a private newspaper. A questionnaire mailed to subscribers found just 35 percent of active-duty personnel approved of how Bush is handling Iraq and 42 percent disapproved.

Although it is not affiliated with the military, the newspaper has a following among the armed services and the poll, prominently displayed on its Web site, was widely cited during the weekend. The newspaper said there was a 95 percent probability that the poll results are accurate within three percentage points.
.................

[rodeodance]

1. "It's folly." says......

If so, it will trigger a fight in Congress where Democrats who take control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate this week after winning majorities in November's congressional elections want a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops and not an increase.

But wary of being tagged as wanting withdrawal regardless of consequences, the Democratic tactic more likely will be to lay out their case in high-profile hearings for shrinking U.S. forces in Iraq by highlighting the costs of the conflict in terms of dollars and lives.

In a New Year's Day address, Bush showed no sign he was losing resolve, promising to "remain on the offensive against the enemies of freedom, advance the security of our country, and work toward a free and unified Iraq."

Even within his own Republican Party, however, some oppose amending Iraq strategy by introducing a "surge" or temporary increase in troop levels. A column by Robert Novak in Monday's Washington Post quoted Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska describing any such proposal as "Alice in Wonderland."

"I'm absolutely opposed to sending any more troops to Iraq," Hagel said. "It's folly."

[truthisfreedom]

2. Which is exactly why bush is going to send more troops.

He lives in the land of his imagination.

[ninkasi]

13. That, and he always

digs in his heels and gets more stubborn when anybody opposes him. Tell him something is a bad idea, and he'll break speed records doing it, just because he can.

[Erika]

3. Sunnis are mad at the taunting at the hanging of Saddam

They have avowed revenge. Are they enemies of freedom and now the targets of our military?

W should be reviled and spat on for his misuse of our military.

[madrchsod]

5. a lot of muslims in iraq are upset about the timing

of the hanging and blame the monkey and the organ grinder..not a good time to send in 20,000 more troops georgie boy

[madrchsod]

4. it looks like there is no support for increasing the troops

in the house and the senate. and yes that means bush will do it anyway because he does`t care anymore what anyone thinks. i think he does understand that he has no power left so he can either wage war which he can do or reverse every thing he has done in the last few years to save his legacy. i`m betting on more war

[rodeodance]

6. oh, but what about the McCain Doctrine?

[madrchsod]

7. ? do`t know about that one

there`s only so much my 60yr old memory card can handle.....

[Warren Stupidity]

8. He's 'wrestling with a decision'?

Oh bullshit. Here is the decision: stay the course must succeed. Here are the details: more troops to Iraq for another shot at that elusive victory thing. Here is the kicker: they intend to get the Democratic congress to fund the escalation so that they can spread the blame when it doesn't work.

They know it is not going to work and they do not give a damn. They intend to run the clock out on the current Congress and see what comes up for them in 09.

[Imagevision]

9. Bush won't listen to generals on the ground, won't listen to Iraqi group

All Bush has is Cheney, Rice and Karen Hughes - I believe we'll be seeing the boy king in a sedated mindset in the weeks to come.

Even if he produced Bin Laden, that won't do sh*t at this stage of the game!!

[Imagevision]

10. Do you get the feeling that we're not being profeshionally represented in government?!!

It seems that we're being led by a man who is strictly a trial and error sort.

[okoboji]

11. and be prepared for the new 'buzz' phrase

"the enemies of freedom"

[superconnected]

12. december one of the deadliest months this year, and usually one of the calmest

in the preceding years of this war.

Gee, betcha the increased violence doesn't taper anytime soon. violence spreads more violence. Terrorists create more terrorists.

And Bushco is Americas Number 1 terrorist. Osama did it but bush allowed it. So who really is responsible for the world trade center happing? Bush. He supposedly didn't read the file he held in his hands, a failure to protect america whether he read it or didn't as he derlicted his duty if he didn't read it and sold us out if he did. Too many 100's of millions changed hands to his corporate allies to ever believe he didn't read it and the terrorists accidentally got through. They couldn't have. Whether he knew it or not, the cia did, they composed the file. Bush told them to stand down and not stop it when they asked if they could.

On the football team called america, the captian held the defense back and sold us out.

As long as we have him for a captian, there is no way to win. And there is no way for the iraqis to ever have a stable country. Bush never wanted it. If their puppet gov really was given their country, they'd want bushco out of their oil fields. It isn't going to happen.

[bklyncowgirl]

14. Trying to come up with yet another way of saying "Stay the Course"

Accept for a very very modest escalation in the number of troops they won't make any changes. To make changes would be to acknowledge mistakes and George W. Bush appears incapable of acknowledging that he could conceivably be wrong.