Making Conservatives Cringe Since 1977

Bush on War

Then:

"The thing about the Vietnam War that troubles me as I look back was, it was a political war," Mr. Bush told Tim Russert on Sunday on "Meet the Press." "We had politicians making military decisions. And it is lessons that any president must learn, and that is to set the goal and the objective and allow the military to come up with the plans to achieve that objective."

Fine. Here's what his military leaders are saying about Iraq:

The large American military presence in Iraq "feeds the notion of occupation" and "extends the amount of time that it will take for Iraqi security forces to become self-reliant," Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Congress last week. Gen. John Abizaid, a fluent speaker of Arabic and the top American commander in the Middle East, said at the same hearing that it was vital for the U.S. to gradually "reduce our military footprint" in the region. "We must make clear to the people of the region that we have no designs on their territory and resources," he added.

But is Bush "allow[ing] the military to come up with the plans to achieve that objective"? Here's what he said yesterday:

Some have also argued that extremism has been strengthened by the actions of our coalition in Iraq, claiming that our presence in that country has somehow caused or triggered the rage of radicals... Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion ....

Will he listen to the military? Or fight a political war?

Who is this "Professor Bainbridge" anyways...LOL

posted by Frederick  # 10/08/2005 02:50:00 AM