Bush's Hail-Mary Pass

[rodeodance]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011201949.html

Bush's Hail-Mary Pass

By George F. Will
Sunday, January 14, 2007; Page B07

During the battle of the Marne in September 1914, France's Marshal Foch declared: "My center is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking." His brio is remembered because his tactic worked: It prevented a rout that might have swiftly ended what might not today be known as World War I. But, then, we cannot know that.

The president's Wednesday evening address was without Fochian panache. He surely knows that he cannot know how his new policy will unfold, any more than his critics can have reasonable confidence in the consequences of their alternative policy.



The president is probably wrong in thinking that 17,500 more U.S. troops can clear Baghdad until Iraqi forces can hold it. And he probably is wrong in thinking that economic pump-priming and jobs programs, which are usually disappointing when tried in America, can succeed amid Iraq's anarchy. Besides, Shiites are not torturing Sunnis with electric drills and Sunnis are not beheading Shiites because both sides are suffering the ennui of the unemployed. For Iraqis, ennui is a utopian aspiration.

But the president is right in framing his new policy as a ukase to Iraq's government: We are buying you time, and not much of it, for you to dash to competence concerning security matters. Bush's policy probably will not succeed, but at least we will know what were the parameters of the possible, given the government produced by those Iraqi elections that once were the source of so much U.S. confidence.

[Earth_First]

1. Hail-Mary!

(Sorry for injecting a bit of humor into an otherwise very serious debate, however for most of us, a bit of humor is about all we have left...)

[Spearman87]

2. Pretty Accurate (NM)*

dfdefdf

[justgamma]

3. "Bush's policy probably will not succeed"

Will some courageous pundit please ask the shrub what his plans are when Shrub's Great Adventure fails. I want to know what the back-up plan is.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

4. I can't understand why democratic pundits

and politicians keep from mentioning Bush’s plan of tying funding the troop surge with funding Iraqi reconstruction.

I mean, Bush us asking us for ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS for 21,500 troops???

We have to start talking about the Hamiltons Baby. It proves Bush is a thief!

[Art_from_Ark]

5. Wow, that works out to 4.5 million dollars per soldier

Holy mackeral

[necso]

6. In particular,

the First Battle of the Marne involved Allied counterattacks, attacks on exposed German positions, using surprise, exploiting German mistakes, and nearly panicking the German High Command with a quick reversal of fortunes.

In short, it was good military strategy.

Moreover, the canvas in Iraq is much broader, including responsibilities for (to) the civilian population, political/economic considerations, etc.

[JohnnyLib2]

7. Why, George Will, why?

You didn't raise these issues 8 years ago.