Let's try a re-write!

President George Bush went to the people on Tuesday night, making his case to stay the course and remain in combat in Iraq. With losses mounting and nightly horrors being played out on the television sets of America, the population is getting a bit nervous about the whole situation and recent polls reflect that sense of worry on the part of Americans.

While polls should play no part in anything as serious as a war, they do give one a sense of a growing chasm between the Bush circle and the wider population. Tuesday’s speech was supposed to focus the American people on a tough but vital job ahead. And for part of it the President did an admirable job of trying to paint the picture for his fellow Americans. Fred Kaplan does a very complete recap of the speech in the current update for Slate’s website.

As you read along to Kaplan’s’ recap, you will notice that along the way some of the Republican messages got changed from those early days of battle. Not once during the speech were the much vaunted Weapons of Mass Destruction mentioned, now this is not unexpected, for as it turned out the quest for WMD was very much a questionable task to begin with. But it was one of the foundations for the Invasion of Iraq and now seems to be treated as one of those little white lies, one would tell to convince a parent that you really hadn’t done anything wrong.

Another interesting turn of phrase on Tuesday was the creation of the melting pot state of terrorism that Iraq has become. Originally in the early days of the conflict, military observers let slip that one of the ideas of setting up shop in Iraq was to create.a magnet for all evil doers to concentrate on. And with porous borders and a suspicious and less than reliable citizenry in country, Iraq certainly has become a bazaar for those that wish America ill.

The president suggested that America was there to fight those interlopers that had taken over Iraq to create havoc. But was that more or less not the plan many would say. The whole exercise at times seems to have been designed to do exactly that, set up a place to pen them in and the homeland would remain relatively peaceful, but at a heavy cost to those Americans sent to patrol the war zone.

Americans might actually feel better if that was the plan! At least then there would be some indication that things were being thought out, for at the moment it gives many an uneasy feeling that things are being done on the fly. We recently had the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney suggest that the insurrection was in its death throes, yet news reports and casualty counts from the battle zones indicate that’s not quite accurate. The very general in charge of the Iraqi deployment Gen. John P. Abizaid said that the insurgency was getting worse and not better. In fact the President, more or less contradicted his own VP on Tuesday night, by stating that it will be a lengthy process to bring Iraqis a peace they so badly deserve. One wonders if Cheney has spoken lately to General Abizaid, let alone the President.

Mr. Cheney seems to make fewer and fewer public comments of late (though when he does speak it usually ends with his foot in his mouth) and that may not be a bad thing. Since the more or less accepted facts of the current situation and his concept of things are seemingly incompatible. The worrisome aspect of this though is the idea that neither the President nor his Vice President seem to be on the same page of battle orders. How does one implement a battle plan if no one can agree on the threat danger?

Another bit of unsettling bravado came earlier in the week from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, he stated that the proper number of troops were in Iraq to do the job. It’s a situation which seems rather hard to believe, considering the continual mayhem of Baghdad, Tikrit, Mosul and many other burgs. The President states that recruits for terror are coming from Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran et al, yet no real move has been made to secure the borders of Iraq. The war seems to be confined to the cities while the borders and rural areas are left un-patrolled, free for the insurgents to set up camp and plan their attacks. While the President explains the need to stay the course, he offers up no suggestion that concrete steps are being made to stem the flow of supplies and willing fighters to those opposed to the American forces and those Iraqi’s trying to retake their institutions.

Rumsfeld designed the smaller incursion force that went to Iraq stating that huge numbers of troops were not required to overthrow a dictator. And perhaps that part of the thinking was correct for the removal of Saddam Hussein was quick and done with relatively few American casualties. However, the day to day policing of the country and prosecution of the battle plan on terror seems to be a little short staffed. Many commanders who have since retired suggested at the time that a larger force was needed to keep a lid on the violence after the removal of the Iraqi government, it would appear that they were not listened to at the time and their voices continue to be ignored at present.

Rebuilding the infrastructure of a country and fighting a war at the same time requires many, many bodies, American forces currently stretched thin can’t do all the heavy lifting and while the US would wish that its International friends and acquaintances would come to share in the work of creating a new Iraq, as long as the Wild West aura continues many will be hesitant to assist. A sense that things were under control and that there was actually some kind of timetable for Iraq might go a long way to bringing more nations along for the ride.

The specter of 9/11 once again was put forward as a reason to continue the battle in Iraq. And I tread carefully on that hallowed ground; I fully understand the anguish of the American people over that horrible day, the horrendous loss of life on their very own streets. But it’s hard to draw the parallel between September 11 and the current situation in Iraq. About the only connection is the fact that many of the terror groups that openly wish for America’s demise have currently set up shop in Iraq, including those that launched or supported the attacks on the US on that September morning. Considering the fact that most of Al Qaeda is apparently hiding in the Pakistani mountains, the connection between the overthrow of Saddam and the quest for Bin Laden and his acolytes seems hard to find.

The 9/11 theme was recently highlighted by White House confidant and Republican pit bull Karl Rove, who basically accused those that don’t agree with Republican doctrine as enemies of the state. A bit of political theatre that harkens back to a darker era of America and is not needed at this pivotal time in American history. There are many Democrats enlisted in the US Military, no doubt many who have given their lives in the service of Mr. Roves’ boss, his boorish behavior is a slap at each and every serving member of the American forces, not to mention almost half of the American voting public.

This is the problem with the Republican message; they don’t seem to understand that in a time of crisis or cause, it’s best to unite the people behind a President with words of concern, strength of conviction and a blue print for success. While the first two on the list have been played nicely, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of the latter coming from the Republicans at the moment. Mostly the agenda seems to be to rewrite the facts to fit the feeling of the moment.

For the sake of the serving personnel in Iraq and the Iraqi people themselves, one hopes that soon the bravado and bluster give way to tangible plans. To leave now probably would condemn Iraq to a cycle of violence even more heinous than that they’ve endured thus far. But with nothing seemingly in place to bring the place to a sense of normalcy, one fears for more of the same that plays out on our television sets nightly.

It obviously will take more time than the American public probably thought was required to finish off the mission. With talk of an insurgency that could last for anywhere from five to twelve years, though the patience and resolve of the American people will be surely tested.

The political types have served up a current scenario that is a great disservice to those sent into battle, those left to worry at home and those caught in the middle in Iraq. They deserve much, much more than the glib words and incomplete plans of politicians, political handlers and bureaucrats. The question is will they receive what they need?