Gyroscope

As some are finally beginning to see, George Bush does indeed have a plan to end his involvement in the Iraq war: he’s going to let his successor deal with it.

You can see that in the constantly vague pronouncements about an ever shifting objective for ending the war: “victory” (over what? who will surrender?) “staying the course” (what is the course?) and so on. Objectives that have no measurable component other than the useful quality of always being in the future.

But the clearest evidence for the stalling tactic is that now the “surge” is being spun out to last longer and longer. It was supposed to be over by summer, remember? Well, it turns out it hasn’t even really begun yet. Oh no, it will be months until we can begin to fairly assess how it works. Months that take us closer to the time bell running out the current administration.

The administration and its water-carriers have been effective in coming up with reasons for why criticism of the war is out of bounds. The cry of “treason” and of “defeat-o-crats” have been used, but now, with the surge, they have a whole new set of excuses. To criticize them now is “premature” – no, the four years of disaster are but prelude, this time its really going to work and you have to be quiet until it does. And of course, the surge has ‘changed everything’ so all the reasons and arguments you had about Iraq last year have to be discarded else you be accused of being out of date.

But lets call this strategy what it is: spineless, gutless, self-obsessed morally degenerate opportunism that thinks it better that a few hundred young American men and women and a few thousand Iraqi’s die than to have to face up to ending the war. In order to cling to temporary political survival, the Republicans think it just fine to go on blowing up a nation. There are few words equal to describing this immorality.

Bush and his minions have it figured out: a Democrat takes over in 2008, ends the war. In the short run, more chaos. Fellow travelers in the press suddenly take an interest in Iraq civilian casualties, a topic they have not much noted in the last four years. Many sad stories of abandoned Iraqi army units that were, amazingly, just on the verge of becoming effective. Republicans jump up and down yelling “cut and run.” Pundit hacks write gravely of the Democratic inability to possess the needed tough-mindedness to handle the adult decisions of national security.

And of course, all that aided and abetted by the ongoing inability of Democrats to formulate a coherent argument and an effective media campaign.

In other words, as bankrupt as the Bush strategy is for Iraq, it just might work for the Republicans.