Job Posting: Iraq War Policy Director

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Apparently no one wants the job. I'm sure that's just what the troops whose tours have just been extended need to hear, too.

America Extends Troops' Tour of Duty

America extends troops' tour of duty

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington

Published: 12 April 2007

The US is to extend the tour of duty for its troops in Afghanistan and Iraq from 12 to 15 months with immediate effect, to boost its capabilities in two wars which have stretched the American military close to breaking point.

At the same time, in a fresh sign of growing, high- level disillusion in Washington over President Bush's handling of the conflicts, it has emerged that three retired four-star generals have rejected White House overtures to become a "war tsar to oversee policymaking in both theatres.

"There is no question... that our forces are stretched," Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, admitted at a Pentagon news conference to announce the longer tours ­ which should facilitate the current 30,000-strong "surge" in Iraq, on top of the 145,000 US troops already in the country.

This latest pressure on US forces will do nothing to boost the appeal of the vacancy for a policy co-ordinator, brought about by the forthcoming departure of Meghan O'Sullivan, deputy national security adviser to Mr Bush with special responsibility for the wars. Theoretically, this gives the White House the chance to revamp the decision-making process. The only problem is, no one wants the job.

"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going," General John "Jack" Sheehan, a former supreme commander of Nato's Atlantic operations and one of those approached, said of the administration's present strategy in Iraq.

General Sheehan told The Washington Post, which first reported the story yesterday, that for all the US reverses in Iraq, his impression was that the hard line approach of Vice-President Dick Cheney still dominated Bush administration thinking on Iraq. The Cheney view ­ "We're going to win, al-Qa'ida's there," in the general's words ­ still prevailed over the "how the hell do we get out of Dodge" view of the pragmatists, he said.

According to the Post, another former officer who has said "no" to the White House is General Jack Keane, a strong supporter of sending more troops to Iraq, but who feels the present surge is too small to do the job. The third is former air force General Joseph Ralston, who served as vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

White House officials confirm the administration is casting around for a new war policy co-ordinator. Few experts here dispute that a widely empowered policy co-ordinator would be an improvement, even if the administration is no longer riven by the debilitating disputes between the State Department and the Pentagon, when Donald Rumsfeld was in charge of the latter.

But General Sheehan's remarks will only strengthen the impression that despite the recent perjury conviction of Mr Cheney's former top aide, Lewis Libby, the Vice-President still has Mr Bush's ear on Iraq ­ and that those who challenge the Cheney line won't be taken seriously.

They also do not bode well for a compromise in the confrontation between the White House and Congress. This week, Mr Bush infuriated leaders of the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill by offering talks on Iraq, but announcing at the same time he would reject any effort by Congress to tie his hands regarding the $100bn funding bills for the war or on target withdrawal dates.

[Kanada Kev]

Ugh! Cause it's 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?

A couple of nights ago I finally got around to seeing the doc Why We Fight. Was spooky. The focus on the parting words of President Eisenhower at the end of his term are shocking haunting in today's world. I highly suggest watching this one, if you haven't already.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/

I also watched a depressing documentary that told the stories of American ground troops who had returned from active combat in Iraq. Their versions of what is going on there are radically different from what we see back here. They are all trained killers, but their reintroduction back into society SUCKS. You'd think that the military would have learned this after all these decades

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Thanks for that link - will certainly check that out.

Something about the title suggests the answer, "...The Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society!"

Very true and sad too about the treatment of returning soldiers. Maybe they're under the impression that their soldiers are in fact clones, and they can just order up another batch of them when they start running out. Oh wait - that's called the draft, isn't it?

[The Chameleon]

Yeah who would want a job that is essentially a post designed to "take the blame" away from the president.

Another Carl Rove brainchild no doubt.