Scott McClellan had a press gaggle Tuesday aboard Air Force One to shed some light on President Bush’s big speech tomorrow. It only took 3 years and nose-diving poll numbers for George to figure out that the American people don’t believe that he has a plan. So - according to Mr. McClellan on Wednesday President Bush is going to - reveal the plan.
McClellan explains:
(Snip) ( emphasis added)
… the President believes that the American people should have a clear understanding of our strategy. And that means how we see the enemy and how we define and achieve victory. So as part of the speech tomorrow, we are going to be releasing a document called the "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.
Catchy title isn’t it? Where was this strategy for the last 3 years and over 2000 soldiers lives. I think that they might have wanted to refer to this plan once in a while. You know - like when one of those nasty sand storms hit and they have to hunker down in a hole for a couple of days. This strategy might have been good reading.
Scottie continued:
(snip)
Iraqi forces are controlling more and more territory, and the President will talk about that in his remarks tomorrow.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld addressed this today in an article in USA Today. I think he sort of stole Bush’s thunder:
Baghdad's once-violent Haifa Street is now more peaceful and under the control of an Iraqi army battalion.
How many streets are there in Baghdad? And this one is only more peaceful than it was before. Is this the kind of detail and benchmarks that we can look forward to on Wednesday?
McClellan’s next quote is my favorite.
(snip)
And I think the President will also talk about how our strategy is a dynamic one. It's a dynamic strategy that is based on adapting to the enemy and adapting to conditions on the ground. It's important that our tactics be flexible and dynamic and that as conditions change on the ground, we change with them.
OK I get it. Our tactics have to be dynamic and flexible. How exactly does "stay the course" fit into this scenario? If this is how we are training the Iraqi troops no wonder they aren’t combat ready. What the hell does it mean?
Scottie's big finish:
(snip)
We will look to our commanders - and I think that's one thing the President will emphasize in his remarks, that it's our commanders who should be determining what our troop levels are in the country, and they make those decisions based on the conditions and circumstances on the ground and that those decisions should not be made by politicians in Washington.
Finally something I agree with. The problem is we never get to hear anything from the commanders on the ground. If Bush really wants us to understand his strategy for victory - the speech should be written and delivered by the commanders on the ground. Only then it will it have credibility. Bush is the #1 politician in Washington and we already know that he doesn't tell the truth.
You can see that this is all a set-up for a speech that basically says "the commanders' on the ground say the Iraqi troops are ready to take over now, and since our strategy for victory has always been to be flexible, we are now going to begin withdrawing troops. See, our plan worked!"
ReplyDeleteJust heard the speech.
ReplyDeleteSame old, same old. You got it right.
Read Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker. He's got it.
Well I say it's high time you all followed your neighbors to the North and established a good old "no-confidence" vote in Bush. Way overdue.
ReplyDelete