Read the book. Do not, under any circumstances, take public performances of George W. Bush as examples. But, if you do, please don't make a stalwart General have to explain to Congress why no one wants to help an arrogant whelp out of a lethal jam everyone asked him not to get them and him into.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 — The commander of United States forces in the Persian Gulf said today that he was no longer counting on foreign troops to relieve American soldiers in Iraq early next year. A lack of such troops would require the Pentagon to send active-duty and National Guard soldiers to fill the gap.
The commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, said he had until Wednesday to tell the Joint Chiefs of Staff whether sufficient allied forces would be available to replace American forces in Iraq.
But the administration's negotiations with allies to provide more troops have so far proved fruitless, and General Abizaid said that he could no longer assume there will be large-scale international support, and that the Pentagon had to begin deciding how to make up for the shortage of foreign troops.
"Since it doesn't look like we'll have a coalition brigade, we have no choice but to plan for American forces," General Abizaid told reporters after he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
To avoid drawing on an active-duty Army that is already stretched thin, military analysts said, the Pentagon will now have almost no choice but to call up additional reservists and deploy marines in Iraq in a long-term peacekeeping mission for the first time.
Maybe Dubya should call the families of each reservist or National Guard or over-extended regular duty serviceman and explain personally why they must sacrifice when he never has. If nothing else, it will keep him busy and he will have less time to devote to his peculiarly skewed vision of nation building.
