Time to sink or swim in Iraq

I’ve been generally supporting of President Bush and the war in Iraq, despite the fact that we’re “not winning.” But that patience has officially reached the breaking point with talk of a troop surge to stabilize Baghdad. I don’t there’s a bit of evidence that additional troops in Iraq will help and good reason to believe it will make things worse. If 70% of all casualties in Iraq are caused by improvised explosive devices, I don’t see why we should add more targets for the insurgents. Furthermore, while the surge could send a message of resolve it would be neutralized by the impression that the “Crusader” armies of America are coming to keep the Muslims under heel. But, worst of all, it’s another crutch for the Maliki government. Here’s the conclusion from George Will’s article in the WashPost today:

Today, Gen. George Casey, U.S. commander in Baghdad, is in hot water with administration proponents of a "surge" because he believes what he recently told the New York Times: "The longer we in the U.S. forces continue to bear the main burden of Iraq's security, it lengthens the time that the government of Iraq has to take the hard decisions about reconciliation and dealing with the militias. And the other thing is that they can continue to blame us for all of Iraq's problems, which are at base their problems."

Baghdad today is what Wayne White -- 26 years with the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, now with the Middle East Institute -- calls "a Shiite-Sunni Stalingrad." Imagine a third nation's army operating between -- and against -- both the German and Russian forces in Stalingrad. That might be akin to the mission of troops sent in any surge.

Since the midterm elections, I’ve been saying that a troop surge was unlikely because the clear message sent in the Democratic sweep was that Americans want to disengage from Iraq. Bob Novak recently wrote that President Bush won’t find support from 12 out of 49 GOP Senators for a troop increase. Just yesterday, I was speaking on the phone with my conservative pal from college and neither one of us thought it was a good idea. And if you can’t get backing from two of the biggest right-wingers that Rutgers ever saw, well, you’re heading down the wrong track. I can understand that President Bush wants to try something to turn the tide, but the problems in Iraq are not the kind that can be solved with more American soldiers.

More – Oliver North also opposes the surge. (HT: Powerline)