WP, Froomkin: Bush thinks we're winning Iraq because the only way to lose is to leave

[DeepModem Mom]

Why Bush Thinks We're Winning
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Thursday, October 26, 2006

One of the more reality-defying aspects of President Bush's position on the war in Iraq is his insistence that we're winning.

That was a central theme at yesterday's press conference...."Absolutely, we're winning," Bush said. "As a matter of fact, my view is the only way we lose in Iraq is if we leave before the job is done."

With the body counts soaring, the country descending deeper into civil war and the central government consistently unable to assert itself, how can he call this winning?

The answer: It's becoming increasingly clear that Bush sees the war in Iraq in very simple terms. As he himself said, he believes that the only way to lose is to leave. Therefore anything else is winning -- anything else at all....

***

Here's Bush, in his opening remarks:

"Abizaid, who I think is one of the really great thinkers, John Abizaid -- I don't know if you've ever had a chance to talk to him, he's a smart guy -- he came up with this construct: If we leave, they will follow us here. That's really different from other wars we've been in. If we leave, okay, so they suffer in other parts of the world, used to be the old mantra. This one is different. This war is, if they leave, they're coming after us. As a matter of fact, they'll be more emboldened to come after us. They will be able to find more recruits to come after us...."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/10/26/BL2006102600725.html?nav=most_emailed

[aquart]

1. Well, no. If we leave they will be completely occupied

with killing each other. They will have neither time, interest, nor money to come after us.

If we had waited till the inevitable civil war at Saddam's death, we could THEN have come in as saviors with an almost reasonable chance of stealing the oil. Now? Zilch. Nada. Our name is anathema for eternity in that region.

If we are gone, the oil is up for grabs and they will do a nice job knocking out each other until something settles down.

Now would be a good time to start treating Chavez MUCH nicer.