If We Don't Win the War In Three Months...

So Bush didn’t say that he was going to shave his head… but it was damn close.

(Btw, the clip above is former science partner and friend, John Mulaney who we’ve pimped before. This clip seems appropriate today. This clip is also the reason why we’re not reading right now. Damn that Mulaney).

So, what to say? Too little, too late. That’s for starters. But let’s check out the notes:

All said, Bush didn’t do that bad of a job. I mean, he basically was out there to say mistakes were made, and considering that nothing even close to that has come from the White House in the last six years, it’s a huge thing. Bush saying that he might have been wrong at times is, well, it makes him a bit more human. Despite what every head whose ever set foot in the fantasy land called Washington DC says, this is probably a good thing. No, Bush doesn’t look ‘great’ right now, but he also doesn’t look foolish continuing to say that things are going great. He’s finally faced the music.

And his answer to this music is to send more troops. 20,000 to be exact. But I’ve got to wonder, will that be enough? I mean, if you look carefully, the US sent 500,000 troops to Saudi Arabia in 1991 for Operation: Desert Strom (note: this was not a video game). In this Iraq War, the US sent like half that in the beginning. And right now, I think about 120,000 troops are in Iraq. This is obviously not enough. And I highly doubt that 20,000 will turn the tide there. Bush said, “This time, we will have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared” which is sort of a weird statement because if all we need was 20,000 troops two years ago… why didn’t we have the extra 20,000 troops in Iraq two years ago? Seems to me that this won’t be enough. I’m sure it will have an impact, but realistically, I don’t see the Iraqis deciding to put down their guns and decide to become active in camel futures.

I should also say, when Bush said that there weren’t enough troops, is he blaming himself since he sent the number of troops that are there in the first place? I don’t want to split hairs about what the DOD said, Bush is the Commander and Chief. Him saying that there aren’t enough troops is quite odd.

Like all Bush, and politicians, addresses this was unbelievably vague at times.

The other big chance that came from Bush’s mouth was that this was not an open ended engagement. Of course, this isn’t a timetable, but it was a warning to the Iraqis to get their shit together. I guess that’s only fair since the Iraqi politicians have been taking shots at Bush and the US. It’s also about an eighth of a bone being thrown to the US public.

And as for Bush’s little, I’m willing to work will others… what a weak attempt to say that he’s willing to listen to others in government. Joe Liberman, who Bush named as someone he’d work with, is an independent… he isn’t even a Democrat. So what exactly was Bush saying when he said that he was going to work with others? Is he only going to work with Liberman? And has he not noticed that everyone is jumping off his Iraq bandwagon? Brownback was the latest. No one wants any part of this Iraq mess. And weak attempts to sound like one who’s willing to reach out and work with others is lame. Because well, you never did it until right now… and it has half assed anyway.

I hate to be a cynic (even though I’m using cynic incorrectly) but whenever Bush talks about the chaos in Iraq, I can’t help but think “But you created this chaos by invading! You created this chaos by not sending enough troops! You created this chaos by not having a firm plan in place after the war to create stability and peace in the country! You created this chaos, Mr. President!”

Also when Bush was telling the Iraqi government what it had to do… ummm is that democracy in action?

And what about those WMDs?

And bin Laden?

And why do you keep telling us that the terrorists don’t like us… we all know this.

But all in all, Bush did finally do something that we’ve been bitching about for a while now, he finally said that the Buck Stops Here. Of course, it was too little, too late.

Eh… maybe war is like modern art and we just don’t get it. And we’re not suppose to get it.