White Noise Insanity

Surge in troops isn't enough, U.S. commander says

The U.S. military's No. 2 man in Iraq says political and economic changes must be made before the tide can turn.


In his first wide-ranging interview, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq conceded Sunday that a military "surge" would not be enough to rescue Iraq, advocating economic and political changes as well, as top Democratic lawmakers in Washington toughened their opposition to any increase in U.S. troop strength.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said he believed that a combination of jobs, provincial elections, anti-militia legislation and stronger Iraqi security forces could stop the nation's plunge toward all-out civil war. Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, his predecessor, spelled out the same approach before his departure one month ago.

By echoing his predecessor, Odierno's comments raised concerns in Washington and Iraq that the U.S. war effort is exhausting old tactics that haven't worked. Indeed, many Iraqis do not trust that a new Baghdad security plan can change their circumstances because the U.S. and Iraqi governments have touted at least five such plans before, all of which failed.

Bush is obviously NOT listening to his generals. He does NOT care about the troops either. If he did he would not continue to send them into Iraq to prop up his failed policies there and to HIDE his incompetence. He would grow up and admit he made a tragic mistake, and has committed the worst military blunder in the history of this country, but he won't. He won't because he would have to admit, because then he would have to admit he was a failure his entire life, and that daddy and daddy's friends had to pull his sorry ass out of trouble time and time again.

Bush would have to admit that daddy's friends like James Baker were just trying to save his sorry ass from the fiasco he made in Iraq. He would have to admit something to the world he can not even admit top himself. So he is willing to send thousands of more troops into the meat grinder of Iraq some to be wounded, some severely even for life, and some to return to this country on flights which Bush refuses to allow to be photographed.

Caskets carrying the dead bodies of the young soldiers Bush as sacrificed to his ego, he tries to keep hidden from our consciences. Somewhere deep inside he knows the truth both of his incompetence, and criminal behavior of sacrificing US soldiers for his ego. somewhere they all know what they have done and are doing is wrong, both legally and morally, but for some reason they refuse to allow their consciences or ours to stop them at this point. How long this will continue no one can say, but with the American people turning their backs on both Bush and the war, this can not continue much longer. He has NO political capital, and the generals are beginning to speak the truth to power, hence he fires them.

The tipping point has been passed but the ground swell is lagging the polls for now, but how much longer?

How much longer before the people return to the street to stop this war just as they did to stop the war in Vietnam?