Push it good

I hear resonances of the "light at the end of tunnel" in the Bush administration's new Iraq policy, and therefore by default the British government's new Iraq policy. Plans for a new and undoubtedly final push in Iraq, including increases in troop strength. Clearly the news of new troops being sent to the region had to wait until after the election. The new four point plan is as follows:

• Increase US troop levels by up to 20,000 to secure Baghdad and allow redeployments elsewhere in Iraq
• Focus on regional cooperation with international conference and/or direct diplomatic involvement of countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
• Revive reconciliation process between Sunni, Shia and others
• Increased resources from Congress to fund training and equipment of Iraqi security forces

This is clearly a signal from President Bush that he will refuse to give ground in the face of the election results and the expected advice from James Baker's "(Remedial) Iraq Study Group". (Perhaps he is just reacting, in the fashion of a petulant, spoiled child, to this past week's Newsweek cover story.)

The Guardian article I linked to above quotes a former administration, referring to Bush's isolation, as saying: ""He [Bush] is in a state of denial about Iraq. Nobody else is any more. But he is. But he knows he's got less than a year, maybe six months, to make it work. If it fails, I expect the withdrawal process to begin next fall."

I pity the every parent whose child has died in Iraq but I especially pity that those who will die in this final, desperate effort and will be remembered by
history as having died in an unsuccesful effort to save Bush Jr's. legacy.