The word is out today that the Bush Administration is considering withdrawing some troops from Iraq. That sure sounds great. Why, one might almost think that the Bush Republicans have finally started paying attention to the will of the American people.
Almost.
The thing that gets my attention is that the number of soldiers that the Bush Administration is planning to take out of Iraq is just about the same number that it added to the war earlier this year, in preparation for the fall elections. Those troops were supposed to be temporary – the Bush Administration planned to withdraw them in December even before the soldiers were sent over at the end of this summer. So, that means that the number of American soldiers in Iraq will be what it was in the middle of this summer. Is that supposed to make us believe that the problem is over, that the problems in Iraq are at the level of this summer?
The Bush Administration’s games with supposedly reduced troop levels reminds me of that old scam used by department stores to get customers to buy stuff. They’d announce sales of 25 percent off all prices – a week or two after increasing prices by the same amount.
Sorry, Mr. Bush, but I’m not buying today.
