September is approaching slowly but surely and things are staying just as bad or worse in Iraq since the President initiated the surge. He claims things haven't worked because the full compliment of troops just got there a few weeks ago. So what happens when we have even more dead soldiers and civilians by the September benchmark deadline? General Peter Pace hints that we might be in for part two of the surge.
From the AP:
BAGHDAD (AP) -- The U.S. military is weighing new directions in Iraq, including an even bigger troop buildup if President Bush thinks his "surge" strategy needs a further boost, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace revealed that he and the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force are developing their own assessment of the situation in Iraq, to be presented to Bush in September. That will be separate from the highly anticipated report to Congress that month by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander for Iraq.
The Joint Chiefs are considering a range of actions, including another troop buildup, Pace said without making any predictions. He called it prudent planning to enable the services to be ready for Bush's decision.
The only prudent planning the military and the President could undertake would be for a withdrawal of the troops. Preferably the sooner the better. It has been constantly made clear that we need to leave if we want to see any progress over there. The U.S. occupation has done nothing but help tear Iraq apart while the Sunni, Shias and Kurds slaughter each other.
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