Bush to U.S. troops: More of you will die in 2007
December 21, 2006 by William K. Wolfrum
Scoffing at those who consider him disconnected, President George W. Bush said today that Iraqis being taunted and fooled into fighting each other by the enemy will lead to more death and sacrifice for the U.S. in 2007.
He added that deep down he knew that Americans really wanted this conflict to continue, even if they weren’t aware of that themselves.
From the Associated Press:
“2006 was a difficult year for our troops and the Iraqi people. We began the year with optimism” but that faded as extremists fomented sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites.
The heavy cost of the war also came into focus as the Pentagon circulated a request for an additional $99.7 billion to pay for the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. If embraced by Bush and approved by Congress, the proposal would boost this year’s budget for those wars to about $170 billion.
So far, four years of war in Iraq have cost about $350 billion.
Apart from any increase in Iraq, Bush said the military’s overall size should be increased to relieve the heavy strain on U.S. troops, reversing the previous position of his administration during Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon tenure. Bush also said a troop surge in Iraq would have to be for a specific mission.
“There’s got to be a specific mission that can be accomplished with the addition of more troops before, you know, I agree on that strategy,” the president said.
“I’m not going to make predictions about what 2007 will look like in Iraq except that it’s going to require difficult choices and additional sacrifices because the enemy is merciless and violent,” the president said.
Bush was unwavering about U.S. goals for Iraq.
“Victory in Iraq is achievable,” he said. “It hadn’t happened nearly as quickly as I hoped it would have. …
“But I also don’t believe most Americans want us just to get out now,” the president said. “A lot of Americans understand the consequences of defeat. Retreat would embolden radicals. It would hurt the credibility of the United States.”
To summarize:
1) More death
2) We’re going to aim for a “specific” mission now.
3) Victory is achievable, we just don’t know what “victory” means, or even “achievable” or, for that matter, “is”.
4) What Americans think and what Bush thinks they think are two completely separate things.
5) The word “Credibility” obviously doesn’t mean what Bush thinks it means.
The conclusion: Expect more of the same, until we attack Iran.
–WKW
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