Saturday, June 23, 2007
Iraq offensive brings out journalistic big guns
The current Iraq offensive has brought out this morning the big guns of military journalism: Tom Ricks and John Burns. Pay attention. They know their stuff. Their assessments of the current battle under way: Not bad, not good. ... Tactically, not bad in the short-term, though Burns notes Al Qaeda leaders have apparently slipped the noose again. Strategically, not good in the long-term, for the same old patterns keep repeating themselves: Al Qaeda leaders getting away, doubts about the performance of Iraqi soldiers, lack of troops, lack of time, etc. ... Burns's report contains something I've never seen: Military officials in Washington have determined that April 2008 is the "last point at which the current American force level of about 156,000 — augmented by the additional five Army brigades and Marine units deployed as part of the so-called surge — can be sustained, given staffing constraints." ... So there's going to be a troop reduction no matter what next spring? I'd advise Democrats to simply step back on the troop-withdrawal demands. No need to be blamed for something the military has already decided to do. This is Bush's own disaster. ...
The current Iraq offensive has brought out this morning the big guns of military journalism: Tom Ricks and John Burns. Pay attention. They know their stuff. Their assessments of the current battle under way: Not bad, not good. ... Tactically, not bad in the short-term, though Burns notes Al Qaeda leaders have apparently slipped the noose again. Strategically, not good in the long-term, for the same old patterns keep repeating themselves: Al Qaeda leaders getting away, doubts about the performance of Iraqi soldiers, lack of troops, lack of time, etc. ... Burns's report contains something I've never seen: Military officials in Washington have determined that April 2008 is the "last point at which the current American force level of about 156,000 — augmented by the additional five Army brigades and Marine units deployed as part of the so-called surge — can be sustained, given staffing constraints." ... So there's going to be a troop reduction no matter what next spring? I'd advise Democrats to simply step back on the troop-withdrawal demands. No need to be blamed for something the military has already decided to do. This is Bush's own disaster. ...
