from the WaPo's on-line SLATE mag:
The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and
the Wall Street Journal all lead with a top American official's admission that despite a joint U.S.-Iraqi crackdown, the military has failed to stanch the violence decimating Baghdad. Attacks in the capital are up more than 20 percent over the last three weeks alone. ...
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the military spokesman in Iraq,
acknowledged that the failure to stop insurgent attacks in the capital was "disheartening." The NYT offers the best account of the general's remarks, describing them as "unusual for their candor and unvarnished portrayal of bad news." Caldwell claimed that insurgents hope to sway American public opinion before the election but said that discussions had already begun on how to "refocus" military efforts. Only the NYT points out how futile those talks are likely to be, noting that "senior American military officials" already told reporters they have no new tactics in mind.
More fundamental changes in policy may be ahead, however. In a
companion to its lead, the Post captures the emerging consensus in Washington that "stay the course" is untenable. A front-page analysis in the LAT makes clear why: Even Republican congressional candidates are questioning the administration's approach. The NYT goes inside with a look at Bush's options, which can be summarized in a single word (bad). As the WSJ reports, simply maintaining current deployment levels may force the administration to revise Pentagon limits on how long National Guard and Army Reserve troops can serve.< It's beginning to look like Bush's "stay the course" dogma is as rigid as Hitler's orders that German troops should never retreat (toward the end of WW2). In the meantime, the GOP coalition and the Bush White House have always been stunning in the degree of their ideological rigidity. What we may be seeing now is the old adage that "rigid things snap" in action. Interesting times. -- Jim Devine / "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
