my take on the little mans dragging his feet on what to do in Iraq.

[madokie]

His big decision is how many and where are they coming from. He has a reverse 'Tet' in mind, they'll storm the places their intelligence tells them where the 'insurgents' are and to do that he is going to need many more men. Can't be telling them that now right before Christmas and all though, but come January all bets are off. Custer's last stand comes to my mind.

[The Count]

1. " I am sure something will pop in my mind during this press conference..."

That was W thinking an answer to "what errors have you made?".
For the second time in his life, Little Boots is "thinking" - or rather waiting for something to pop....

[bigtree]

2. right on target

The only qualifier would be that such a move would likely generate headlines and protest, then, be stunningly ineffective in stemming any of the unrest in Iraq. Such a move would actually deepen the conflict.

[madokie]

3. It'll be his last big move, many will die

from that point on he will be watched like a hawk watches a rabbit, as he should be

[Jimmy52]

12. I tend to agree

He will increase the troop level in an attempt to keep from looking like a loser at the end of his Presidency and many more will die and nothing will be accomplished. The war was wrong and there is nothing we can do at this point to change that but letting the Iraq's defend their own country is an option. They need equipment and training. They have been enough of our soldier's lives.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi Jimmy52!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. LBJ indulged in the same wishful thinking and esclated.

The fratboy idiot still has notions of gleeful Iraqis flinging flowers and naming their kids Dubya.

[Warpy]

5. He's just waiting to see who's victorious in the clash between Titans

He's got Poppy using proxies versus Cheney. Poppy won the fist battle by getting Rumsfeld out. However, Cheney has the advantage of official office and constant presence in the White House. Baker, Poppy's proxy, has neither the official stamp of approval conferred by Diebold nor the constant access Cheney has.

It will be interesting to see which side wins. If Poppy does, it will mean a phased withdrawal from Iraq with a small group left to guard the embassy, followed by a repeat of the helicopter scene from the last day in Saigon. It will also save Stupid's bacon and possibly that of the GOP. If Cheney wins, the military will be cut to shreds for the next two years, leaving even the dimwitted with the knowledge that the GOP fucks up everything they touch and should never be let near the military and other hurtful things.

It's a lose-lose situation, really, because there can be no winners in this war.

[madokie]

8. No winners at all and if by an outside chance there would have been be, he'da shot it down

I'm convinced of that. He shouldn't have ever been in the place where he has other peoples lives in his hand to start with but thats another story.

[rodeodance]

6. he will do it on the cheap (at the expence of more troops dying)

[gratuitous]

7. Well, he's already rejected so many proposals

Bush or his spokespeople have already ruled out a troop drawdown, conferring with Syria and Iran, asking the UN for help, calling on NATO, just getting the hell out, and anything else that doesn't equate to staying or escalating the course. Which sort of limits what his potential "decisions" are going to be.

[madokie]

9. Our troops are on their own, he's not watching out for them by any stretch

[gratuitous]

10. Maybe it's time for the troops to just start coming home

Screw the orders, just get off the battlefield. One guy does it, he'll get prosecuted to the fullest extent. Ten guys do it, maybe the same thing happens. But a hundred guys just leave? A thousand? Ten thousand? What would happen?

[Jimmy52]

11. It really doesn't matter how many opinions Bush gets

He is the one making the decision and judging from the "Decider"s judgment to now, we are screwed. He doesn't want to admit the entire war was a huge mistake so he will up the troop level in an attempt to bring the violence under control. More will die.

[amandabeech]

13. I think that the Saudis threat to make the civil war worse if

the Shia keep going after the Arab Sunnis has everyone's shorts in a twist.

My guess is that there was more to what King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said to Cheney a couple of weeks ago, like if you withdraw and leave the Sunnis unprotected, we'll dump the dollar and shut off your oil.

We're struggling to keep the dollar up so that interest rates will stay down. High interest rates don't work well with a collapsing real estate market and 50% of voters in hock up to their necks in adjustable debt. Sales of anything bought on credit would plummet.

If the dollar crashes, interest rates will have to rise on treasuries so that someone will keep buying them. In addition, overseas investors will start pulling out of U.S. investments. Even though most oil is still sold for dollars, the price will rise.

None of this would be good for Republicans and would ruin Chimpie's legacy even in his own eyes.