Son of Surge

The problem with deadlines is they have a habit of creeping up on you. September must have seemed so far away when Bush first introduced his Surge. What to do….what to do?
Well luckily the American Command have sent in a Battalion of Army engineers to shift the goal posts. The new plan comes in two phases. No point in biting off more than you can chew. The “Near Term” goal is to achieve “localized security” in Baghdad and other areas no later than June 2008 (I thought that was what the Surge was meant to do by September 2007?) The new theory apparently puts a premium on protecting the Iraqi population Baghdad, on the theory that the improved security will provide the Iraqi political leaders with the breathing space they need to try political reconciliation. No surprise that this plan has been stitched together by General Petraeus, whose balls are well and truly in the sling with September approaching. And I’m sure the ‘breathing space’ will be welcomed with open arms by Mr Bush. June 2008 pushes the whole messy Iraq thing a long away away. From there it will be a short skip and a jump to the end of his presidency and then some other sucker can take charge of the mess.