Military Brass Opposed Surge - McCain aligned Bush didn't listen to the Generals

[sabra]

How about a new ad? Obama aligned with Military Brass - McCain align with Bush

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/04/60minutes/main4415771.shtml?source=mostpop_story

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Asked what the generals at the Pentagon thought when presented with the idea of a surge, Woodward told Pelley, "They think that it won't work. And the president actually at one point goes and meets with them. And the Army chief of staff, General Schoomaker, says 'You can't add five brigades, it will take many more,' 'What about another crisis?' 'We don't have troops for this,' 'What about the damage your doing to the force, the young kids who see nothing but endless rotations?'"

"What does General Casey, sitting in Baghdad, think of having additional troops?" Pelley asked.

"He thinks that Baghdad is a troop sump-a place you can put endless numbers of troops in. And he does not want to add force," Woodward said.

"The president, who has said in public, endless times, that he relies on his generals to tell him what they need, is actually going his own way here," Pelley remarked.

"That's right," Woodward agreed. "The records of the joint chiefs show that the idea of five brigades came from the White House, not from anybody except the White House."

[Larkspur]

1. The "Surge" had really no effect on the violence in Iraq

The ethnic cleansing that happened during most of 2006 along with the Sunni Awakening and Al Sadr's ceasefire did more to lessen violence in Iraq than the surge, which was a political gambit that didn't start until after Democrats retook control of Congress in Nov. 2006. The first surge troops didn't land in Iraq until Feb. 2007 and most of the surge numbers were bogus as troops that were scheduled to rotate out were forced to stay another 12-15 months.