RK ARCHIVE - Playing the delay game in Iraq

Playing the delay game in Iraq

By: Rob
Published On: 4/28/2007 8:36:25 PM

Another great post from TPM, this one breaking down how Bush and Cheney are kicking the can down the road on Iraq so that the next President is the one stuck with fixing his mess.

Josh Marshall explained it like this back when the surge was being sold in January:

[T]he most appropriate name for what the president is planning is neither 'surge' nor even 'escalation' but rather 'punt' -- a strategically meaningless increase in troops meant to allow the president to avoid dealing with the failure of his policy and lay the ground work for getting the next president to take the blame for his epochal screw-up.

And today's follow-up post from David Kurtz is brilliant, including the reader comment from December that lays out exactly how it's all going to play out. Today's news that even now the earliest we're being promised a real assessment of the surge isn't until September fits right into this game plan. As Kurtz sums up: "We're right on schedule."

Comments

Iraq Reconstruction Projects Falling Apart (PM - 4/28/2007 11:06:51 PM)

In the mean time, we have not only unaccounted for billions spent in Iraq, but the money that was spent is going down the drain. The New York Times today had a story about how projects are crumbling. http://www.nytimes.c...

[i]nspectors for a federal oversight agency have found that in a sampling of eight projects that the United States had declared successes, seven were no longer operating as designed because of plumbing and electrical failures, lack of proper maintenance, apparent looting and expensive equipment that lay idle.

These were projects that had been officially declared a success.

Tom Tomorrow Has Pundits' Iraq Predictions Up (PM - 4/28/2007 11:41:48 PM)

http://www.huffingto...

Ah, the heady days of "victory," with people like Fred Barnes saying "The war was the hard part . . .and it gets easier . . ."

And read the delicious Cal Thomas quotes [excerpt]:

The purpose of a cultural war crimes tribunal would be to remind the public of journalism's many mistakes, as well as the errors of certain politicians and retired generals, and allow it to properly judge their words the next time they feel the urge to prophesy...
All of the printed and voiced prophecies should be saved in an archive. When these false prophets again appear, they can be reminded of the error of their previous ways and at least be offered an opportunity to recant and repent.

And because I know Lowell likes quotes from this guy:

"The only people who think this wasn't a victory are upper west side liberals, and a few people here in Washington." Charles Krauthammer Inside Washington 4/19/03

SOOOOOOO TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (bladerunner - 4/29/2007 9:17:06 PM)

Thanks for posting this Rob--Bush/Cheney are pathetic cheeseballs. Two punks who avoided war themselves delaying a war so more great Americans can get killed. And Bush/Cheney say the dems are trying to politicize this.