THINKING FOR OURSELVES

Decisions Delayed

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, Dec. 24-30, 2006

This was supposed to be the week that President George W. Bush would unveil his new plan for the U.S. in Iraq. Now it seems we will have to wait until sometime in January to learn the decision of the Commander in Chief. But every day it looks like Bush is drifting toward the astonishing decision to actually increase the number of troops involved.

Defending his decision to delay an announcement until early 2007, Bush said “At the appropriate time I will stand up in front of the nation and say: ‘Here’s where we’re headed. I’m not going to be rushed into making a difficult decision, a necessary decision.”.

These remarks came after talks at the Pentagon, consultations with senior military planners and a variety of people over the past few days, including diplomats, U.S. allies, key political players inside Iraq and leaders of neighboring countries.

The staging of the announcement to delay the presentation of a new plan gave a clear indication of Bush’s leanings toward sending even more troops to Iraq. The president made the announcement flanked by Vice-President Dick Cheney and outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld had spent the week on a defiant farewell tour, visiting troops and urging them to stay the course.

Of all of the settings Bush could have chosen to make his announcement, wrapping himself between Cheney and Rumsfeld suggests that he remains unshaken by the escalating criticism and repudiation of his failed war.

In addition to his choice of staging, Bush selected the most violent statistic he could find to show U.S. military power. In the face of the deteriorating situation in Iraq, Bush actually seemed to boast that US and Iraqi forces had killed or captured roughly 5,900 “of the enemy” over the past three months.

This same three month period was described very differently in a Pentagon report issued a few days after Bush’s announcement. This report, mandated by Congress and issued quarterly, details the failure of the last, most recent increase in force that the U.S. tried by concentrating troops in Baghdad.

Covering the same period that Bush mentioned, from early August to early November, the report documents a worsening security environment in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq despite of an increased troop presence. It says that nearly 1,000 insurgent and sectarian attacks were carried out every week against American and Iraqi targets. This is the highest level ever recorded. Moreover, the report notes that increased attacks on troops means increased deaths for Iraqi civilians. While attacks are directed at Americans, civilian Iraqis are often the victims, dying at a rate of nearly 100 people a day.

The direct consequence of more troops is more instability and death for the Iraqi people.

According to the report, the number of attacks declined slightly in August — when thousands of American combat forces were moved into Baghdad — but rebounded quickly and were the highest on record in September and October.

The report points to a paradox in the Bush administration's strategy for Iraq. While the number of Iraqi soldiers and police officers who have completed training is higher than ever, the number of attacks and sectarian incidents has also increased.

The reporting period covers the second phase of the joint U.S.-Iraqi operation dubbed "Operation Together Forward."

The harsh truth, evaded by Bush, is that he simply cannot shape the world to his will by force. Such a course borders on madness. The passage of time will not change this reality.

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