The Military

It may be wishful thinking, but the increasing evidence that the U.S. military does not think highly of the way the Iraqi leadership has used the extra time afforded by the surge in American troop strength raises the possibility that Bush could begin to order a draw-down of U.S. forces in Iraq by the end of the year.

While he could not claim victory, he certainly could lay the blame (with justification) on the Iraqi regime for failing to bring about a genuine coalition with the Sunnis and for not dividing up the oil revenue. He could begin to pull out American troops based on Hillary's rationale that American troops have done their share but the Iraqi government has not done its.

Would such a move work politically? You bet it would! Nixon, forewarned by Republican losses in Congress in 1970, accelerated troop withdrawal from Vietnam and even had Kissinger announce that "peace is at hand" in the days before the 1972 general election. It worked like a charm and propelled him to an easy reelection victory.

Bush could still do a lot to save his party by beginning to pull out.

Gen. Antonio Taguba is one of America's most respected senior officers, was put in charge of the Abu Ghraib investigation, and has now leveled a series of powerful public
charges that will soon blow this case sky-high.

Gen. Taguba went public early this week in long on-the-record interviews with Sy Hersh reported in his New Yorker piece now on newsstands.

Among other things, Taguba says:

1. He was ordered not to investigate higher-ups in the chain of command, which means
there was (is) a cover-up protecting the highest-ranking Bush administration officials who might have criminal liability.

2. Early in his investigation he was threatened with career retribution if he dared to seek the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Read more...

In a democracy it is extremely unhealthy to put any commander in the position of being the de facto commander in chief for credibility.

It is true, the president's credibility is in tatters with a majority of the American people and world opinion doubting the truthfulness of his word. No war policy can be sustained when an overwhelming majority of the nation has lost confidence in the war and in the integrity of the commander in chief.

This is not merely obvious, or my opinion. This is what Republicans have told the president and what the strong majority of Senators and members of the House, in both parties, believe.

No general should be asked to substitute his name for credibility that can only be held by the commander in chief. No general should be used as a political shield, a political football, a public relations talking point, or a lobbyist in chief. Read more...

Not to carry this too far, but I find I agree in part with Ron Christie, not maybe about all of Gen. Pace's decisions or comments (especially about gays), but about the process.

The Democrats are entitled to question and criticize Pace and focus on the Iraq war. They are entitled to vote against him if they so choose. But for this administration to pull the nomination because they didn't want to take on the issue of Iraq shows a lack of political courage and a lack of belief in their policies. OK, so they got blowback from Democrats — at this point they are getting blowback from practically everybody, no matter the political stripe or ideology. Read more...