Reply #9: Analysis: Iraq surge may be extended

[Vyan]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is laying the groundwork to extend the U.S. troop buildup in
Iraq. At the same time, the administration is warning Iraqi leaders that the boost in forces could be reversed if political reconciliation is not evident by summer.

This approach underscores the central difficulty facing
President Bush. If political progress is not possible in the relatively short term, then the justification for sending thousands more U.S. troops to Baghdad — and accepting the rising U.S. combat death toll that has resulted — will disappear. That in turn would put even more pressure on Bush to yield to the Democratic-led push to wind down the war in coming months.

If the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki does manage to achieve the political milestones demanded by Washington, then the U.S. military probably will be told to sustain the troop buildup much longer than originally foreseen — possibly well into 2008. Thus the early planning for keeping it up beyond late summer.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070421/ap_on_go_pr_wh/iraq_troop_boost;_ylt=AhSzeijh_POMUbv4aQ.3UuayFz4D

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Harry Reid points out that the War is already lost, (just as the ISG previously said) which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone since the Pentagon has now given up on "Standing the Iraqis Up, so we can Stand Down".

And as we've seen, the Iraq Surge is working so well that we've had record numbers of military and civilian deaths over the last couple of months - so it's seem the perfect definition of something or the other to continue on the course that's already been set until the inevitable finally sinks in, or the next President takes office - whichever comes first.

Vyan