Thursday, December 01, 2005



"A strategy for victory"

George Bush gave a major speech today in which he outlined his "strategy for victory" in Iraq. Which consists of "staying the course" and continuing to do exactly what they've done so far, while denying that the spiraling body count, continuing lack of basic services, and declining human rights situation are any indication that that strategy might be failing (those being, apparantly, "the metrics that the terrorists and insurgents want the world to use").

Really, it's reminiscent of nothing so much as General Haig's brilliant plan for winning the First World War ("get out of the trench and walk slowly towards the enemy; repeat until everyone is dead"). Or possibly banging your head against a brick wall until your brains fall out. But what's important is that the US not be seen to back down - or at least, not until His Majesty is safely out of office so the blame will fall on someone else (preferably a Democrat).

It's even more depressing if you read the actual report in all its bullet-pointed glory. The authors clearly live in a fantasy world in which the Iraq war is going well (possibly they've been paying too much attention to the propaganda the US is planting in the "free" Iraqi press); the key message is that "our strategy is working". And that's about all it says - as Matthew Yglesias points out, problems - or rather "challenges" - are defined, but no actual solutions are presented. Surely a strategy for victory should at least contain some suggestion as to how that victory will be achieved? Instead, the Bush Administration is simply hanging on and hoping, while loudly denying that the temperature in their handbasket is rising (or even that there is a handbasket at all). Osama will be very pleased...

4 comments:

To be fair to Haig, for a aging 19th century gentleman he showed an impressive adaptibility to new technology. The problem was the society he lived in, he was a slave to a world view which hoisted itself on its own petard of a nationalistic social Darwinism which glorified war and demanded that its hubris be slaked in blood of the trusting working class...

And so what goes around comes around - the U.S. is led by another Douglas Haig, a slave to a neo-con world view which combines arrogant nationalistic social Darwinism with a glorification of military action and which demands its its hubris be slaked in the blood of the trusting working class...

Posted by Anonymous : 12/01/2005 11:32:00 AM

OK, i'll bite.

You may not be terribly impressed with the current President or with the war, but you can hardly state that there is no plan.

The plan is to train the Iraq defense force to a point where they can take on the insurgency and then withdraw US troops. You may diagree with this approach, but it is indeed a plan.

If you do disagree then offer a critique and/or alternative. I'd be interested to know. And to start things off, I'd admit to wanting the US toops out as soon as possible.

Posted by Anonymous : 12/01/2005 12:57:00 PM

Army of the Republic of South Vietnam, aka Arvin - now making pizzas in Georgia, running shrimp boats on theTexas gulf coast, operating a DVD rental in Cabramatta.
Etcetera, etcetera.

However many Iraquis they manage to train up, the officer class will end up living outside Iraq.

Last helicopter out of the Green Zone, anyone?

Posted by Anonymous : 12/01/2005 01:30:00 PM

Icehawk,

Part of plan 1 - train Iraqi defense forces.

Details of implementation - the current trainng of Iraqi defense forces. If you believe that this is not happening please give evidence.

Part of plan 2 - establish stable democracy.

Details of implementation - hold interim elections, writing of constitution, holding of new elecions under new constitution on 14th Dec. Again, if you disagree with whether or not these details have occured please give evidence.

I could go on but you can guess what I would say so no point.

This is a plan. If you disagree with it fair enough, offer an alternative, but I really don't see how denying its existance moves this debate on. I have offered an olive branch by stating I would like to see the troops out as soon as possibe becasue, whatever the disagreements over the war, the current state of Iraq is precarious and I think we all want to see theh troops out and a stable democracy.

Posted by Anonymous : 12/02/2005 08:18:00 AM