by Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON - Has the U.S. public lost so much confidence in the George W. Bush administration's handling of
the Iraq war that its current strategy -- to the extent one actually exists -- is unsustainable?
With Pres. Bush himself besieged by anti-war protesters on his seemingly endless and ill-timed vacation at his
Texas ranch, that appears to be The Big Question, just two weeks before the resumption of official business back in
Washington.
Both Republican lawmakers, who face mid-term elections in 15 months from now, and the military itself, which, as a
result of the Vietnam debacle, has taken as an article of faith that the loss of civilian support must be avoided at all
costs, appear increasingly restive and unhappy with the course of events.
"There are more and more voices within the party and military who are beginning to acknowledge that the situation in
Iraq is not only not improving, but is actually getting worse," said Jim Cason of the Friends Committee on National
Legislation (FCNL), a lobby group that opposed the war.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0819-08.htmdp