Robert Gates said the U.S.would be required in Iraq “for a long time.” NY TIMES

[applegrove]

At Hearing, Gates Says U.S. Not Winning War in Iraq
Doug Mills/ The New York Times
Robert Gates said the U.S.would be required in Iraq “for a long time.”

By DAVID STOUT
Published: December 5, 2006

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 — President Bush’s nominee to be defense secretary said today that the United States was not winning the war in Iraq, and that an American failure there could help to ignite “a regional conflagration” in the Middle East.


Robert M. Gates, who will succeed Donald H. Rumsfeld as the Pentagon’s chief if he is confirmed as expected, also told senators that the United States went to war in Iraq without enough troops, as some generals said at the outset of the conflict.

The statements about the situation in Iraq came during exchanges with Senators Carl Levin of Michigan, the panel’s ranking Democrat and soon to be chairman, and John McCain, Republican of Arizona, during Mr. Gates’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Mr. Gates, do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?” Mr. Levin asked.

..........SNIP"

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/washington/06gatescnd.html?ex=1322974800&en=fce771479bdcc4e4&ei=5090partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

[necso]

1. w has made his "plan" clear,

methinks.

He's going to stupid-it-out until another administration takes over (and if the Dems find some way to stop him, then when it gets worse over there, the Dems will be blamed: rove-"think" 101).

Now, there are many people who realize that w stupiding-it-out could spell disaster for the republican party. And some of these people will try their best to change w's "mind". (Although this isn't looking promising to me.) However, some sort of draw-down (maybe shifting non-combat personnel) is probably the most that we can expect from w and company.

But it's like this -- we need to get out of Iraq because we can't afford to keep paying the price that we are (even if we were doing some net-good by our efforts). (Even military-types are arguing for withdrawal/redeployment -- which speaks to the grave harm being done to the military by this misadventure.) However, if we succeed in doing the right thing, there's liable to be a heavy price to pay for it in 2008 (see above).

...

Word of the day: "even".

[marmar]

2. Again, they keep saying "failure is bad" but they can't define VICTORY....

Why, because there is no such thing in this mess. It's a nebulous concept that means nothing. It's going to be bad if we leave, but much worse if we stay.
The public is going to have to DEMAND that we leave. I wasn't alive during the Vietnam War, but it seems live Vietnam all over again.

[classysassy]

3. How long ?

until the oil wells run dry.