An Internet hub with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, indies, centrists, moderates, and right
Iraq: When One Surge Isn’t Enough
Despite President Bush’s rosy statements that his last-gasp “surge” strategy in Iraq is working, the Pentagon may be preparing to send several thousand more troops on top of the 21,500 already in country or on their way.
Gordon England, a deputy secretary of defense, has told the House Budget Committee that commanders are requesting reinforcements beyond the personnel already earmarked for the three-week-old Baghdad security sweep.
Said England:
“At this point, our expectation is the number of . . . troops could go above 21,500 by about 4,000, maybe as many as 7,000.”
More here.
7 Responses to “Iraq: When One Surge Isn’t Enough”
If it’s working, why do they need more?
This was a bit of dishonest quoting Shaun. England said, “”Our expectation is the number of support troops could go above 21,500 by about 4,000, maybe as many as 7,000, if the commanders on the ground request and they are all validated.”
Now you placed “…” to replace “support”. Why? Instead you leave people with the impression that the first commenter had, that is if it is working, why do they need more troops? When you leave support in there, it becomes a less pessemistic outlook, they just need some more support troops.
Chris:
They “forgot” to ask for support personnel.
Go figure.
Rugger:
Read my response to Chris. Hard to believe that some of these guys have Harvard MBAs but they forgot to ask for support troops.
As for the brief post being dishonest: You are not immune from being blown to Kingdom Come because you provide support. Like driving an ammo truck, being an MP or flying to a firebase over insurgent-held territory to the mess hall where you’re going to cook.
Speaking of the latter, I know a former mess sergeant who got three Purple Hearts.
Or they figured it would be easier to ask for support troops later instead of placing them in with the other total? I mean look at the opposition 21,500 got, 28,500 would have only been worse.
And it has nothing to do with you being in harms way. Support personel are often put in harms way. However, I fail to see how a request for extra support troops equates to the surge failing or being unsuccesful.
Interesting that the number of extra troops is close to the number of troops that the British are sending home.
Rugger:
I failed to mention that the mess sergeant who was twice wounded drove an ammo truck before being promoted to a mess hall.
I didn’t say that the surge was succeeding or failing. Our president believes the former but his generals say they need more boots for it to succeed whether those troops are airborne or chairborne.
In any event, as I wrote here yesterday, it is going to take months — not a few news cycles — to ascertain the success or failure of the surge.
I want the surge to succeed because that will begin to open the door to a U.S. exit or substantial drawdown, but that is my heart talking. My head does not believe that it will succeed in the long term because the circumstances that have brough us to where we are on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the invasion have not changed, except for the worse.