Newsweek: A Stagger, More than a Surge

[RedEarth]

A Stagger, More than a Surge

Don’t believe all the hype. What Bush really hopes to accomplish in his Iraq speech

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey
Updated: 10:29 a.m. CT Jan 10, 2007

Jan. 10, 2007 - After all the hype, all the leaks, and all the punditry, what more can the president say on Wednesday night that hasn’t been said already?

The answer, according to senior Bush aides, is quite a lot.

Take the idea of a “surge,” for instance. The much-debated escalation suggests a lot of troops moving quickly to Iraq. Yet two senior White House officials, who declined to be named discussing sensitive policy matters in advance of the speech, tell NEWSWEEK that the president’s approach will be far more cautious. The White House expects all the new troops to be deployed in Iraq. But they won’t go until the Iraqis have met several conditions--or benchmarks--to get the extra help they say they need.

Chief among those benchmarks is that the Iraqi government follows through on its own security plan, announced on Saturday. That means Iraqi troops need to report for duty, sweep through neighborhoods regardless of sectarian interests, and follow a clear chain of command that leads to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The White House expects that could take as long as six months, making the ramp-up of troops more of a stagger than a surge.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16561328/site/newsweek/

[smoogatz]

1. Right. Because what's vitally important to Bush's new strategy in Iraq

is that it takes exactly two years for the media to be able to determine categorically that it's a failure.

[whistle]

2. So, rather than a "surge" it will be more like a "seep", a "trickle" or

...an "ooze"? That makes more sense considering Dubya is pushing it!

[solara]

3. Ooze.. that is an excellent term: "Bush's Ooze" n/t

[MasonJar]

4. They are also saying that the escalation will begin by the end of

this month.