A Losing Hand

The year 2006 was mostly about Iraq, it just kept getting worse. On this second day of 2007 a quick trip over to memeorandum shows that not much has changed. Thanks to the government sanctioned lynching of Saddam Hussein by the Sadr militia the Sunnis in Iraq, and probably neighboring countries as well, realize it's fight or die. The adolescent bully from Crawford and his delusional neocon orcs are not about to give up so we will see 3000 American deaths become 4000 sooner rather than later as the new strategy becomes "stay the course" with more canon fodder. And of course General Casey must go, he wants to get out not win.

Over the past 12 months, as optimism collided with reality, Mr. Bush increasingly found himself uneasy with General Casey’s strategy. And now, as the image of Saddam Hussein at the gallows recedes, Mr. Bush seems all but certain not only to reverse the strategy that General Casey championed, but also to accelerate the general’s departure from Iraq, according to senior military officials.

General Casey repeatedly argued that his plan offered the best prospect for reducing the perception that the United States remained an occupier — and it was a path he thought matched Mr. Bush’s wishes. Earlier in the year, it had.

But as Baghdad spun further out of control, some of the president’s advisers now say, Mr. Bush grew concerned that General Casey, among others, had become more fixated on withdrawal than victory.

Now, having ousted Mr. Rumsfeld, Mr. Bush sees a chance to bring in a new commander as he announces a new strategy, senior military officials say. General Casey was scheduled to shift out of Iraq in the summer. But now it appears that it may happen in February or March.

Bush, along with McCain and Lieberman are now very much alone. As Robert Novak reported over the weekend Bush's plan for a surge would only find support from 13 senators, 12 Republicans and Joe Lieberman. But the incompetent bully from Crawford will bet his losing hand once again and hundreds or thousands will die.