"Once more into the meatgrinder, dear friends..."

You probably will have already seen/ignored the President's speech by the time you read this, but as of this writing, excerpts have been leaked. It looks like the same type of tired propaganda we're used to. If this is Bush's 'A material', we're in deeper shit than I thought.

From the beginning-

"Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror – and our safety here at home. The new strategy I outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help us succeed in the fight against terror."

More false 9-11/terrorism emotional appeals. He's reaching for the desperate material right at the top; not a good sign. This is the point of the speech where any rational person's brain should power down to avoid any further damage.

More-

"I have made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended."

That's right! January 2009 is only 24 long short months away.

Delusional, party of Bush-

"The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time..."

A challenge made more difficult by the monstrous failures and hubris of this administration.

On bringing the troops home-

"[To] step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government…Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more lethal. If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home."

Translation: 'See? Sending in more troops will show the Iraqis that they can't be violent anymore and peace will spread across the region as if by a magical unicorn... and only then our troops can come home! Duh! It's so simple!'

Speech summary: "Yea, we've fucked up... But this time, things will be different. Trust us."

Same shit, different spin. Wake me when we get less complacent about this madness.

Oh yea... that escalation/'surge'? It's kind of already begun. Take THAT, American people.

[Related reading:
-AP: Analysis: Bush's New Plan Not All New
-Washington Post: On Iraq, Bush to pull away from generals
-Think Progress: BREAKING: Bush escalation will cost $6.8 billion.
-Baltimore Sun: Better armor lacking for new troops in Iraq]