Fighting the Urge to Surge

We now know that Fred Kagan and the NeoCons have got George Bush's ear yet again, enticing him with the allure of victory if he only adds another 20 to 30,000 US troops in Iraq. If you could bring yourself to believe this, how could you resist this option?

That's the US president's problem - not a lot of people are convinced. Before the emperor's wishes became known, his military chiefs said more troops either weren't needed or couldn't accomplish much. Once their master's desires were telegraphed a number of them popped up saying, "Yes, we can use those extra troops; they'll make all the difference."

So, George Bush has his generals onside, not to mention Senator John McCain. What's the problem? Part of the problem is the Democrats with their newly won majorities in the Senate and House. Another part is the American people who've stopped believing the laughable claims and promises and have turned against their leader's war of whim. As if that opposition wasn't enough, Bush now faces an angry Republican party whose surviving senators and congressmen tend to blame him and his war for their misfortune in the last elections.

According to uber right-wing pundit, Robert Novak, Bush's proposed surge is a definite non-starter with Republican senators:

"President Bush and McCain, the front-runner for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, will have trouble finding support from more than 12 of the 49 Republican senators when pressing for a surge of 30,000 troops. 'It's Alice in Wonderland,' Sen. Chuck Hagel, second-ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, told me in describing the proposal. 'I'm absolutely opposed to sending any more troops to Iraq. It is folly.'

"What to do about Iraq poses not only a national policy crisis but profound political problems for the Republican Party. Disenchantment with George W. Bush within the GOP runs deep. Republican leaders around the country, anticipating that the 2006 election disaster would prompt an orderly disengagement from Iraq, are shocked that the president now appears ready to add troops."

What does George Bush do if he can't get the support he needs in the senate and house? Does he defy congress? Does he force their hand, make them shut down the Iraq adventure and then blame them for its failure? If the war is a loser, more troops or no, what better option can there be than to set up someone else to carry the blame?