In a speech back in March, George W. Bush said that he would start turning control of Iraq over to the Iraqis by the end of 2006. He repeated his tired old promise that "[a]s Iraqis stand up, America and our coalition will stand down."
At the time, I remember thinking about how politically convenient it would be for Bush to pull a few troops out just before the November elections.
But now it appears that something must have changed. (A worsening insurgency and civil war, for starters.) Yesterday's big headline was about how thousands of Marines are going to be ordered back to active duty and sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan because (not surprisingly) the military can't recruit enough fresh meat. [Read story.]
Each tour of duty takes its toll on the mental and physical health of our troops. Nonetheless, the Bush administration will just keep pushing them further and further. It's not their kids after all.
There are two alternatives. Neither one is feasible.
1. Get the troops out of Iraq now. This is not a possibility because Bush has already told us that we will remain in Iraq for as long as he is President.
2. Institute a draft. Congress would never do this because: a) It's an election year, and that would be election suicide; and b) It would put their own kids at risk.
So they'll keep sending the "less fortunate" kids back to the front lines to protect their own interests.
This is another glowing example of our tax dollars at work.
God bless America, as they say.
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