Robert Parry: Operation: Save Bush's Legacy

[seafan]

Operation: Save Bush's Legacy

By Robert Parry
January 3, 2007

....

So, the more modest escalation of up to 20,000 soldiers would appear to represent what might be called “Operation: Save Bush’s Legacy,” with the goal of postponing the inevitable until 2009 when American defeat can be palmed off on a new President.
Right now, Bush seems caught between his determination to stave off admission of failure and the shortage of U.S. troops available to throw into the conflict in Iraq. ......
The escalation to 160,000 troops, from the current 140,000, also would be hard to maintain for long, since the Pentagon has warned that existing troop levels in Iraq already are straining the U.S. military and forcing repeated tours for soldiers and Marines.
Yet all the signs point to Bush going in that direction. Over the past few weeks, he even appears to be orchestrating a slow-motion purge of senior military leaders who oppose the “surge” and instead favor a phased withdrawal.


....

Washington insiders also may have been wrong when they interpreted Bush’s selection of former CIA Director Robert Gates as a concession to the “realists” advocating a disengagement from Iraq. It may actually have been the opposite – the replacement of a disillusioned Rumsfeld with a dutiful Gates.
The “conventional wisdom” was misguided, too, when it assumed that Bush would interpret the Democratic victory on Nov. 7 as a sign to begin winding down the Iraq War. Instead, Bush signaled his disdain for anyone suggesting a troop withdrawal.
In Amman, Jordan, on Nov. 30, Bush mocked the expected recommendations from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, headed by longtime Bush Family adviser James Baker who considered a troop drawdown combined with a revived Israeli-Palestinian peace process and direct talks with Iran and Syria as the only realistic course.
But Bush declared that U.S. forces would “stay in Iraq to get the job done,” adding “this business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it whatsoever.”


....

During a classified briefing at the Pentagon in December, Bush then reportedly made clear to the brass that he had no interest in finding a way out of Iraq. Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine commandant, described Bush’s message as: “What I want to hear from you is how we’re going to win, not how we’re going to leave.” ......
Bush, who has always insisted that he listens to his generals on military matters such as troop levels, reacted to their resistance to the “surge” with a purge.
The first to be pushed to the door was Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East who suddenly announced that he was accelerating his retirement which would take effect in March. Abizaid, who speaks fluent Arabic, was criticized by some in Washington for being too concerned about Arab sensibilities.
Getting the bum’s rush with Abizaid will be Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq who had called the idea of a troop escalation unnecessary and possibly counterproductive. The New York Times reported that Casey would be replaced in February or March, several months ahead of schedule.

....

By ousting “surge” opponents – from Rumsfeld at the Pentagon to the top commanders in the Middle East – Bush and his neoconservative aides in Washington appear to be taking personal control of the Iraq War strategy.
The President seems determined to put in place a military hierarchy that will fall in line with his edicts, rather than disagree with him. ......
Though Bush may yet back away from the idea of expanding the war beyond Iraq, his apparent decision to escalate U.S. troop levels there suggests that he will do whatever he can – even if it bloats the death toll – to escape the opprobrium of having committed perhaps the greatest strategic blunder by any President in U.S. history.
With 3,000 American soldiers already dead along with possibly a half million or more Iraqis, Bush is determined to escalate the war in the Middle East into a pitched battle for his presidential legacy.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. K&R for important analysis.

the boy king is delusional and getting more and more dangerous. If he continues down this path, I would expect the GOP congresscritters to start considering impeachment. A few too many of the democrats still have a yellow stripe down their backs wider than the Pacific Ocean.

[AndyA]

2. Bush said he was going to let the military leaders on the ground advise him

on when the time was right to start pulling out.

Now that they've basically said we need to get out of here, Bush has decided that's not what he wants so he's going to get rid of them.

Congress needs to handicap Bush immediately. No more troops. No more money for Iraq.

START THE INVESTIGATIONS! Lame Duck is not good enough for Bush - we need to disgrace him and reveal his dirty deeds and secrets to the World. So much for his legacy. Bush's legacy will be corruption, lies, and death. And that's exactly what he deserves it to be.

[Stuckinthebush]

3. Do we have any good military leaders left?

Or have they all been purged over the past six years and replaced with fools, sycophants, and unseasoned personnel?

Once a Democrat becomes president, what will he or she have to do to rebuild the armed forces from the top down? Can a retired general be pulled back from retirement?

[Tempest]

4. Administration official: Surge is a political decision (Parry's right)

MIKLASZEWSKI: Good evening, Brian. Administration officials told us today that President Bush has now all but decided to surge those additional troops into Baghdad to try to control over the violence there and only then could they accelerate the turnover of territory to Iraqi security forces. Fact is they’re not up to the task yet. The plan would also throw more U.S. money at Iraq for reconstruction and a jobs program. Interestingly enough, one administration official admitted to us today that this surge option is more of a political decision than a military one because the American people have run out of patience and President Bush is running out of time to achieve some kind of success in Iraq. While this plan will clearly draw some stiff opposition on Capitol Hill, the president is expected to announce it a week from today.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/03/escalation-political-decision

[seafan]

5. Everything was, is, and will forever be done for political reasons with the BFEE.

And the doddering old man is still as cunning and manipulative as a fox.

[ananda]

6. Gads.. Bush's legacy of..

.. death and destruction is very secure and will last until the end of humanity.

[jazzjunkysue]

7. K&R. Very simply, * refuses to admit he's a chimp. n/t.