Looks like this will be the plan. 30k more troops and a $1b jobs plan. I like the jobs plan idea, although why such an idea took four years, is beyond me. This basically guarantees that McCain will come out of this looking bad, as far as I can tell. I just don't think cracking down harder will make a difference, and will negate any potential good will that may possibly come about through a jobs plan. When the people don't want you there, then increasing your visibility and force does not seem prudent.
Of course, this is an escalation of at least 18 months, rather than a "surge", which has always seemed a silly word to me.
One of the neoconservative thinkers, whose views are believed to have influenced Bush, suggested the military action might last longer than expected. 'We need a long-lasting surge because we have to keep in mind that we face an enemy here that adapts to our strategy,' said Frederick Kagan, a military historian and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. 'If we do a short surge they will just wait us out. We need to surge for at least 18 months.'As much as he is right, I still think he is wrong about the main fundamental premises, namely that our presence doesn't make things worse. But then again, what the heck do I know? And Juan Cole, an oft critique of US policy, thinks that Bush has started to bring in some good guys.
I wish these seasoned professionals well. They know what they are getting into, and it is an index of their courage and dedication that they are willing to risk their lives in an effort that the American public has largely written off as a costly failure. If the US in Iraq can possibly have a soft landing, these are the individuals who can pull it off. It is a big if.
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