W asks the musical question: “What a little moonlight will doo-oo-oo…
Friday August 31, 9:42 PM
Bush to Hear Military’s Concerns on Iraq
President Bush is expected to hear deep concerns Friday from top Pentagon generals about continuing the military buildup in Iraq, as yet another grim independent report emerges finding lack of progress in the conflict.
Iraq was to be the main topic at a meeting scheduled so Bush could hear assessments from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Two independent assessments already have been previewed this week _ the latest finding that Iraq’s national police are so corrupt and tainted by sectarianism that the corps should be scrapped and replaced with a smaller force.
A friend from Chicago responds to this piece:
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“I am more convinced than ever that the military is the only force that can get Bush to back off . . . the reality is that if he starts withdrawing some troops early next year (because of the impossibility of extending deployments or sending people back for the fourth time), our presence in Iraq becomes even less viable militarily (and riskier) and that we wil have to withdraw all or almost all fairly quickly (say the end if 2008).
“If these generals are candid, Bush will perceive it as a mutiny … if they are not, we might lose the opportunity for an orderly withdrawal. It seems to me that they have to make sure he hears “. . . or else” — it will be very interesting to see what, if anything, leaks from these meetings.”