Psychoblues
Senior Member
Great news! We have a plan for victory in Iraq. Now, for all of you who are thinking to yourselves, "Wait a minute... shouldn't we have had a plan for victory before we invaded?" - well you're wrong. See, this administration likes to work backwards.
Yes, last week George W. Bush unveiled his National Strategy for Victory in Iraq , just a little over two and a half years and 2,000 dead U.S. troops after he announced that the mission was accomplished. Good job.
Bush's plan calls - again - for Iraqi forces to "stand up" so that U.S. forces can "stand down." If you think you've heard that before, well, you have. But there's a difference - since the last time Bush announced this plan, things have apparently changed in Iraq. Here's what Our Great Leader had to say last week:
The progress of the Iraqi forces is especially clear when the recent anti-terrorist operations in Tal Afar are compared with last year’s assault in Fallujah. In Fallujah, the assault was led by nine coalition battalions made up primarily of United States Marines and Army - with six Iraqi battalions supporting them... This year in Tal Afar, it was a very different story. The assault was primarily led by Iraqi security forces - 11 Iraqi battalions, backed by five coalition battalions providing support.
Great! Just one problem: it's not true. As Think Progress recently noted, journalists who are actually embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq (remember them?) are painting a very different picture of the reality on the ground. Here's what Time magazine reporter Michael Ware told Anderson Cooper last week:
I was in that battle (Tal Afar) from the very beginning to the very end. I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with al Qaeda. They were not leading. They were being led by the U.S. green beret special forces with them. Green berets who were following an American plan of attack who were advancing with these Iraqi units as and when they were told to do so by the American battle planners. The Iraqis led nothing.
George W. Bush lied? I'm shocked.
But this whole "Plan for Victory" thing becomes far less surprising given the revelation that Bush's speech was written, at least in part, by Dr. Peter Feaver, a National Security Council pollster. According to the New York Times, Feaver concluded through public opinion research that "Americans would support a war with mounting casualties on one condition: that they believe it would ultimately succeed."
So it seems that the real plan for victory in Iraq is "we don't actually need a plan, as long as the American public thinks we've got a plan."
Good job Our Great Leader doesn't pay attention to the polls, right?
Psychoblues
Yes, last week George W. Bush unveiled his National Strategy for Victory in Iraq , just a little over two and a half years and 2,000 dead U.S. troops after he announced that the mission was accomplished. Good job.
Bush's plan calls - again - for Iraqi forces to "stand up" so that U.S. forces can "stand down." If you think you've heard that before, well, you have. But there's a difference - since the last time Bush announced this plan, things have apparently changed in Iraq. Here's what Our Great Leader had to say last week:
The progress of the Iraqi forces is especially clear when the recent anti-terrorist operations in Tal Afar are compared with last year’s assault in Fallujah. In Fallujah, the assault was led by nine coalition battalions made up primarily of United States Marines and Army - with six Iraqi battalions supporting them... This year in Tal Afar, it was a very different story. The assault was primarily led by Iraqi security forces - 11 Iraqi battalions, backed by five coalition battalions providing support.
Great! Just one problem: it's not true. As Think Progress recently noted, journalists who are actually embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq (remember them?) are painting a very different picture of the reality on the ground. Here's what Time magazine reporter Michael Ware told Anderson Cooper last week:
I was in that battle (Tal Afar) from the very beginning to the very end. I was with Iraqi units right there on the front line as they were battling with al Qaeda. They were not leading. They were being led by the U.S. green beret special forces with them. Green berets who were following an American plan of attack who were advancing with these Iraqi units as and when they were told to do so by the American battle planners. The Iraqis led nothing.
George W. Bush lied? I'm shocked.
But this whole "Plan for Victory" thing becomes far less surprising given the revelation that Bush's speech was written, at least in part, by Dr. Peter Feaver, a National Security Council pollster. According to the New York Times, Feaver concluded through public opinion research that "Americans would support a war with mounting casualties on one condition: that they believe it would ultimately succeed."
So it seems that the real plan for victory in Iraq is "we don't actually need a plan, as long as the American public thinks we've got a plan."
Good job Our Great Leader doesn't pay attention to the polls, right?
Psychoblues