Iraq Report May Mean Longer Surge: Battle for Baghdad will likely cost hundreds of troops' lives

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/AP: Iraq Report May Mean Longer U.S. Surge
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 13, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- While many in Congress are pushing President Bush to alter course in Iraq by September if not sooner, his new status report on the war strongly implies that the administration believes its military strategy will take many more months to meet its goals.

The report cited no specific timeframe, but its language suggests what some U.S. commanders have hinted at recently: The troop reinforcements that Bush ordered in January may need to remain until spring 2008....

***

The president apparently has made the calculation that he can ward off political pressure to change course before the next required progress report, set for mid-September. That's when Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, plans to lay out his assessment of whether the counterinsurgency strategy he launched in February is working and recommends to Bush whether to stick with it into the coming year....

***

By extending troop deployments in Iraq from 12 months to 15 months, the Army has made it possible for Bush to maintain the troop buildup until about April 2008. But if he wanted to go beyond that it would require some even more painful moves by the Army, at the risk of reaching a breaking point....

Between now and September the battle for Baghdad will intensify, likely costing hundreds of American troops' lives, and the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will be pressured to do more to weed out sectarian influences in the Iraqi security forces and to pass legislation designed to promote reconciliation....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Iraq-What-Next.html

[babylonsister]

1. If Congressional thugs won't be reasonable, CUT THE FUNDS! nt

[coco77]

10. I agree with that...

everytime someone says that the thugs try to make the excuse that it will leave the troops stranded as though they won't have a way to begin retreating.

[Frustratedlady]

2. Bush is not going to end this war. He will hand the mess over to the next Prez.

The only thing he could figure out was how to get in. Now, he doesn't have the smarts to get us out. That's why he has that little snicker when he talks about withdrawing. He's putting one over on us and enjoying every minute.

What's Condi up to? You don't hear much about her anymore.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Funny you should mention Condi! She's quoted --

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice advanced that view Friday morning, telling Fox News' ''Fox & Friends'' that by waiting until September, ''we can make a coherent judgment of where we are and we can chart a way forward.''

''I understand people's concern. I understand people's impatience,'' she said, ''but I would just hope that we could recognize that our men and women in the field, our ambassadors, our generals out there, our commanding general, are on a course that was laid out by the president in Jaunary. We ought to stick to that.''

[Frustratedlady]

8. Condi said, "''we can make a coherent judgment"

She's kidding, right? They haven't made a coherent judgment in 6 years, why now?

I'm so sick of this bunch, I could vomit.

[babylonsister]

5. Not much; no one wants to see her:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2915363

[rwork]

6. The American people

Need to answer the question, can you live with 100 young men and women dying per month for bushs so called Iraq Democracy?

[DS1]

3. is anyone surprised?

predictable from day one of the 'surge' idea, in fact, there'll be a supplemental surge, operation red bull viagra

[madrchsod]

7. bush`s stalingrad

[leftchick]

9. and how many thousands of Iraqi lives?

:(

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Yes. nt

[Karenina]

11. Whose kid will get to be the last to die

for this utter nonsense? :shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Yes -- time to ask John Kerry's famous question once again. nt

[Solly Mack]

14. I don't believe my government gives a damn how many people die

as long as the lies are propped up