Bush is a picture of defeat (Andrew Greeley)

[Octafish]

Here's the Truth of the matter:

Bush is a picture of defeat

January 19, 2007
BY ANDREW GREELEY

The presidential address last week was pathetic enough to make one feel sad for the poor dear man, as they say in the old country. With little emotional affect he read a lecture about his ''new strategy,'' which was in fact nothing more than a new tactic, growled at Iran and Syria, threatened the Iraqi government, and promised that the United States would emerge the winner in Iraq.

The notion that 20,000 more American troops would pacify Baghdad was farcical. If one really intended to stop internecine war between two religious tribes, one would have had to promise a lot more Americans. John Keegan, the famous English military historian and commentator, estimated that pacification would take 50,000 troops. Various American military experts suggested that it would require at least 100,000 soldiers and Marines. If one calculates two American soldiers or Marines for every 1,000 people in a city, as does the Army's counter-insurgency manual, 140,000 fighting men (which excludes the half of the troops in Iraq who are not combat soldiers) would be required.

The mountain labored and gave birth to a mouse.

Some of President Bush's allies in government and the media (David Brooks in the New York Times, for example) contend the ''new strategy'' must be tried if only because there's nothing else to do. Republican senators insist the Democrats in Congress must suggest an alternative strategy if they expect to be taken seriously. How are we going to solve the Iraq Problem unless we have a strategy?

There are two answers to such idiocy: 1) There isn't an alternative strategy or any strategy that will clean up the Iraq mess, and 2) the Democrats do have a strategy: phased withdrawal, beginning now.

CONTINUED...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/greeley/217426,CST-EDT-GREEL19.article

I love Father Greeley.

[fooj]

1. Beginning NOW.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3166797&mesg_id=3166797

Just TODAY, we lost 21 soldiers to this ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL WAR!!!
Please help BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!
Help send a strong, clear and consistent message! NO MORE WAR!

[Octafish]

2. Agree 100 percent, fooj.

The crazy monkey has ordered an escalation of his illegal Iraq invasion.

We must make quantum leaps forward in our work for peace.

PS: "Coincidently," a friend of mine is trying to organize a road trip from Detroit to Washington, those days.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. On a question not related to this thread:

Octafish, would you know what George Bush I's parent's occupations were at the time of his birth in 1924? Was one of them a diplomat working in France, by any chance?