A Snowballs Chance With No Backup
Via Talking Points Memo we learned that Sen. Gordon Smith isn't that optimistic about the chances of President Bush's surge plan working.
Smith goes on to say that he recently spoke with Gen. Petraeus, the man in charge of the operation, who said there was only a one in four chance of the plan succeeding in its current form. Given such a slim chance of success, one would think the Bushies would have a backup plan ready should the 'surge' not work.
But as we've come to know all too well, thinking ahead has never been this administration's strong suit.
From WaPo:
Actually, I'd postulate that the real Plan B is simply another surge, which is probably why they low-balled this one in the first place. They could claim the failure of Plan A (not a policy failure mind you, simply a lack of will on the part of Americans or the Democrats didn't give it a chance to work) as proof of the need for more blood and more treasure to be spent sinking us deeper into the mire.
Update: Meme rounds up the usual suspects.
(Filed at State of the Day)
"If you're really going to do a surge, you don't do it with 20,000, you do it with 250,000," he said, noting that Baghdad is a city of nearly 7 million people. But he said the United States cannot afford such a response; instead it has to come from the Iraqi Army.
Smith goes on to say that he recently spoke with Gen. Petraeus, the man in charge of the operation, who said there was only a one in four chance of the plan succeeding in its current form. Given such a slim chance of success, one would think the Bushies would have a backup plan ready should the 'surge' not work.
But as we've come to know all too well, thinking ahead has never been this administration's strong suit.
From WaPo:
During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?
The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. "I'm a Marine," Pace told them, "and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory."
Pace had a simple way of summarizing the administration's position, Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tenn.) recalled. "Plan B was to make Plan A work."
Actually, I'd postulate that the real Plan B is simply another surge, which is probably why they low-balled this one in the first place. They could claim the failure of Plan A (not a policy failure mind you, simply a lack of will on the part of Americans or the Democrats didn't give it a chance to work) as proof of the need for more blood and more treasure to be spent sinking us deeper into the mire.
Update: Meme rounds up the usual suspects.
(Filed at State of the Day)
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