IRAQ "BAIT-AND-SWITCH": WP, Eugene Robinson, "September Song and Dance"

[DeepModem Mom]

September Song and Dance
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, June 15, 2007; Page A21

Here's a surprise: Remember how we were told that if we just waited until the fall, we'd see that George W. Bush's "surge" was working in Iraq? Well, now it turns out that we shouldn't expect answers in September after all.

White House spokesman Tony Snow was purposeful on Wednesday in stomping, trampling, tap-dancing upon and otherwise giving a definitive beat-down to any expectations of a serious, fact-based reassessment of Iraq policy in the fall. Never mind that the White House raised those expectations in the first place....

***

In the world of retail, this is known as bait-and-switch.

The thing is that no one should be surprised. On Iraq, Bush has been nothing if not consistent. Never has he given any indication of seriously considering a real change of policy. Every grudging concession, every ballyhooed initiative, every single announced change has been on the margins -- dump Donald Rumsfeld, appoint Petraeus, order the "surge." Politicians, analysts and even generals can talk all they want about civil war, about redeployment, about phased withdrawal. None of that is remotely on the president's agenda.

Will anything Petraeus says in his September report change Bush's determination to fight on in Iraq toward ill-defined "victory" -- to "win" what has become a multifaceted mess of sectarian warfare that everyone is destined to lose? Almost certainly not. If there is a single encouraging paragraph in the entire document, Bush will seize on it as vindication.

Facts on the ground have never been the determining factor in Bush's policy on Iraq. Facts don't even seem to be a particularly important factor. It was considerate of Tony Snow to start preparing us for the inevitable -- and, indirectly, to remind congressional leaders that if they want to change the president's course on Iraq, they won't do it through reasoned persuasion. George Bush can't bring himself to question his basic vision of Iraq, and I doubt he ever will.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061401740.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[illinoisprogressive]

1. Bush is not leaving. he has alot of permanent bases already built there.

[Amonester]

2. But, but, but... It never was about staying the course!

Sure.

















NOT

http://icasualties.org
http://www.stopiranwar.com

[radfringe]

3. in January, when the "surge" was first announced

we were told we would see progress by April.

In april we were asked by bush to "...to give his chance a plan..."

said it before and it bears repeating - this is not a SURGE, it's a Drag and Dump

DRAG IT OUT UNTIL JAN '09
DUMP IT ON THE NEXT PRESIDENT

sadly, the bushies are going to make it as difficult as possible to get out of Iraq - no matter who the next president will be. Gut feeling tells me bush has us stuck "over there" for a very long time.

[G_j]

4. they won't do it through reasoned persuasion

duh.. How long should it take them to learn this?
That's right they already knew it, but it was politically expedient to let America's Iraq War grimly grind on with no end in sight, just like Vietnam.

Impeachment is the only way left to stop the war criminals but of course, though it may be on our "table", it is not on thier table.

[G_j]

5. kick