3 Years: That's The Civil War Anniversary

After three years of war, the White House finally realizes it should try to get its act together...

AP: New Panel to Investigate Iraq War Policy

Ten prominent Americans, including former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, are forming a bipartisan group to assess the Bush administration's policies in Iraq and political and economic developments in the troubled country....

I welcome this panel, as it can hopefully identify the key problems Iraq faces and allow for a change in our policy toward the war. I would like to assist the panel and point them in the direction of several such problems: George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. These problem areas have been hampering progress and should be looked into immediately.

President Bush's response to this panel's inquiries? "Bring 'em on!".

Oh no, I'm sorry, that's what he said about the insurgents in 2003. My bad.

Meanwhile CBS reports that-

March was supposed to be the month when the U.S. commander in Iraq made a recommendation to pull more troops out of Iraq. Instead, he has asked for more troops to be sent in.

With 133,000 American troops already in Iraq, an armored battalion of about 700 soldiers kept on standby in Kuwait is beginning to move north toward Baghdad. U.S. officials say Gen. George Casey asked for more troops because of a convergence of events, and danger, surrounding the third anniversary of the American invasion...

Sending in more troops? Gee willickers, why hasn't the President mentioned this at any of his rallies this week? I guess that was the problem- not the failed U.S. policy, not the sectarian violence, not the stubborness of all parties- we just needed a few hundred more U.S troops there! How stupid can they be? Rep. Murtha is right, our troops' presence there is fueling the insurgency. And if they couldn't quell the violence in three years, what difference can be made now as the country devolves into civil war? Our troops have done all they can do and it's time to let the Iraqis figure this out for themselves. Sending in more troops is backwards at this point. More lives to be lost for nothing.

The article also notes-

A CBS News poll finds the American public is increasingly convinced that the war in Iraq is going badly and may not get any better. An overwhelming number say Iraq is currently in a civil war, and nearly half think the U.S. effort there will not succeed.

The poll also finds that: only 25% believe the war has been worth the costs, only 3% believe Bush started the war to "free the Iraqis/promote democracy", 49% (the majority in this question) believe Iraq is part of the war of terror, 64% believe it won't make any difference to the U.S.'s safety whether or not Iraq becomes a stable democracy, 66% believe the President describes things in Iraq better than they are, and 41% believe the Democrats are more likely to make the right decisions for Iraq (vs. 35% for Republicans).

And that's the reality- the President's photo-ops this week aren't likely to change that.

[PS- The Memory Hole has a great resource up- They acquired via the Freedom of Information Act reports from the Future of Iraq Project (over 1,200 pages of previously unavailable reports from State Dept planning for post-Saddam Iraq). Lots of stuff to read through, if interested.]