January 3, 2007 at 16:23:16

Bush must be stopped

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By Doug Thompson (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Doug - Writer

President George W. Bush next week will propose sending up to 30,000 more American soldiers to Iraq as part of a "troop surge" program to try and bolster his failed policies in that civil war-ravaged country.

His ill-conceived plan means increasing casualties for American troops in a war where the death toll topped 3,000 at year's end along with many thousands more wounded and maimed.

As expected, the new Democratic leadership of Congress is less than thrilled with talk of troop surges and sending more Americans to die in an illegal war based on lies.

"Everything I've heard and everything I know to be true lead me to believe that this increase at best won't change a thing and at worst could exacerbate the situation even further," says Missouri Democrat Ike Skelton, incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Also concerned are a growing number of Republicans. At least 19 GOP Senators say they oppose sending more troops to Iraq and some two dozen House members from Bush's party plan to oppose the President's plan.

Even Pentagon planners tell the President his plan is risky at best and doomed to fail. The Joint Chiefs unanimously oppose increasing the number of troops.

"The delusional Bush remains convinced more military action will bring 'victory' and more troops will make him 'successful' in Iraq. Bush -- like Lyndon Johnson before him -- is a self-anointed Carl von Clausewitz, in his twisted mind a superb military strategist who knows more than the generals," writes Peabody Award-winning TV journalist Bill Gallagher.

Bush has proven many times in his failed Presidency that he doesn't listen to advice from those who know a hell of a lot more about war than him. The man who hid out from serving his country in the Vietnam War discards any opinions that don't fit into his preconceived, illusionary ideas of world domination.

A Pentagon assessment delivered to Bush last week predicted sharply increased American casualties if the "surge and escalate" plan is implemented. Bush reportedly dismissed this warning as "a necessary cost of war."

Bush's determination to chart his own course showcases a lame-duck President increasingly isolated from the American people, his own party and even reality.

White House insiders say the President, never known as a master of the English language, often lapses into disjointed, rambling diatribes against those who question his policies and avoids meetings with any advisors who might disagree with his fantasies.

Bush, they say, spends more and more time alone or in the company of Secretary of State Condi Rice who, along with Vice President Dick Cheney, are the only Bush insiders still supporting a troop increase.

Former Republican Congressman and now conservative TV talk show host Joe Scarborough calls Bush's increasing isolation "Nixon-like," recalling the final days of former President Richard M. Nixon's presidency as the scandals of Watergate closed in. Scarborough also calls Bush "paranoid and delusional."

"I'm growing more disturbed every night by how isolated George W. Bush has become," Scarborough says. "All the Joint Chiefs oppose his plan for Iraq. His lead general opposes his plan in Iraq, and now he's going to quit because Bush has ignored him. Colin Powell opposes his plan in Iraq. And an L.A. Times poll is showing that only 12 percent of Americans support his plan for more troops in Iraq. Shouldn't more Americans be disturbed at this unprecedented example of a White House that's in a bunker mentality?"

Legendary Boston newspaper columnist Mike Barnicle is even more blunt.

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