Remember Operation Together Forward
Operation Together Forward was the president’s answer to the ongoing violence in Iraq. Mid-term elections were coming and the Republicans by all polling were going to take a beating. The President did everything that he could to beat down those nah-sayers. He and his generals were going to calm Baghdad and save the Republicans. But, Together Forward with its Iraq troops in support of American troops didn’t work out so go. In late summer, Operation Together Forward 2 was launched. Americans would clear and the Iraqis would hold. It didn’t work.
So, the Republicans were beaten but no as badly as they should have been because the President played the fear card again and it worked on some Americans, again. The Iraq Study Group was formed. They reviewed and studied and reported what we already knew. Things in Iraq were terrible and getting worse. We needed a regional strategy to fix this problem. Not a military one. Well, the president blew the ISG a raspberry. He surged. The Surge sounds very much like Operation Together Forward.
This whole thing has been a McGuffin. The Bush team has run out of ideas and options. Years ago, in the NCAA Basketball tournament, when you were an inferior team but you somehow got the lead you would go to the 4 corners offense in order to run out the clock. We are seeing the Bush Administrations 4 corners offense. They are trying to keep the Senate Republicans at bay. If they are able to run out the clock they will leave this mess to a Democratic president who will then have to look weak by pulling out of Iraq. The subsequent chaos will be blamed on that president by Limbaugh, Hannity and the gang.
The Surge is a delaying technique. The 6 month roll out of the Surge was another delaying technique. “Let’s wait until we get a report from General Petraeus in September.” Once we get the report then we will have to make “adjustments.” I’m sure after the adjustments there will be another report and more adjustments. The administration will continue to ask for a little more patience and little more time. The plan is working – they will say. I’m convened that we are watching the 4 corners offense. This plan is designed to enough Republican Senators behind the president until January 2009 to block anti-war legislation.