Smoke and Mirrors

A group of military experts consisting of three retired generals and two academics advised Bush not to withdrawal troops from Iraq, yesterday. Wow, what a surprise!
Expecting anybody military to suggest a decrease in troop strength in Iraq is like expecting a race car driver to suggest the best thing for racing is to go slower, it aint gonna happen.

So Bush continues pulling the wool over the eyes of Americans by seeking “advice” from “experts.” These sessions are little more than staged events the outcome of which are determined in advance for the benefit of the emperor. Bush will go before the public and claim that he has listened to the advice of the military and low and behold, withdrawing from Iraq would not be pertinent, the military says so!

In scripted testimony the five agreed, “…the Army and Marine Corps both need to be bigger, and also need bigger budgets.”

White House officials emphasized that although the experts gave a bleak assessment, they still believe the situation in Iraq is "winnable."
"I appreciate the advice I got from those folks in the field," Bush said after emerging from the morning session. "And that advice is . . . an important component of putting together a new way forward in Iraq."
The carefully choreographed meetings are coming on the heels of the release last week of the Iraq Study Group's report, which pronounced the situation in Iraq "grave" and recommended fundamental shifts in how the Bush administration handles the war. To stem the deteriorating situation in Iraq, the report said, the administration should shift the focus of its military mission from direct combat to training Iraqi troops, while pressing harder for a diplomatic solution by engaging Iran and Syria -- something Bush has pointedly refused to do. - Washington Post

What are we to make of these meetings? Simple, when the Iraq Study Group issues it’s report condemning the administration for it’s handling of the war, the White House cobbles together their own panels whose suggestions come out in opposition to what the Baker commission recommends so that it appears that the President is open to differing opinions. In reality it is just political cover for “stay the course.” The faces may have changed but the policy stays the same.