Iraq vet: Bush may yet 'take credit for the sun rising'
Keith Olbermann devoted a segment of his show on Wednesday to exploring President Bush's unwillingness to change strategy in Iraq or even listen to people who might disagree with him.
Olbermann pointed out that Bush was already rehearsing the speech on Iraq which he intends to deliver on Thursday night when he told Congressional leaders on Tuesday that he thought it was important to consult with them "before I make up my mind."
However, Olbermann also noted that Tony Snow may have given the Democrats ammunition when he said in his last press briefing, "Only a crazy person would fail to adjust strategy on a regular basis, based on the realities on the ground."
"Is President Bush failing to adjust his strategy on a regular basis?" Olbermann asked columnist Craig Crawford of Congressional Quarterly.
Crawford answered that despite minor adjustments, Bush's "strategy of keeping American troops in a combat role in the middle of a civil war" has never changed and the discontent of ordinary Americans is not going to affect that. "He really has a very small universe of people he needs to sell," said Crawford, explaining that as long as Bush is able to provide political cover to the 20 or so Republican leaders in Congress who can prevent any veto override, he will not have to take account of public frustration over the war.
Olbermann was then joined by Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, who pointed out that everyone has discussed General Petraeus's "mixed opinion" but "nobody talked about the fact that Ambassador Crocker simply told us that there's no political progress at all."
"Even in the high ranks, not everyone agrees with General Petraeus," said Rieckhoff, "and President Bush has a history of blowing off military advice from people who disagree with him. ... Bush may go on and announce that he's drawing down 30,000 troops. It's not because it's a strategic goal. It's because it's a practical necessity. By the end of this discussion, he may take credit for the sun rising. ... There's a total disconnect here."
"We're putting all our eggs in one basket," concluded Rieckhoff, suggesting that Bush probably never played the boardgame "Risk" and "doesn't understand that we have other threats to think about beyond Iraq and in many ways we've left the back door wide open."
"As usual, stuck on Madagascar with all of your troops there," commented Olbermann, revealing himself as another Risk-player.
The following video is from MSNBC's Countdown, broadcast on September 12.
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