Tue, 12 Oct 2004 13:45:44 GMT

Bush admits combat missions in Iraq are geared towards influencing US election

At some point, someone, somewhere has to raise a stink about this.
Bush has ordered our troops
in Iraq to delay any major assaults on rebel-held cities in Iraq, apparently even if they're militarily necessary, until after the US elections in November.






My favorite quote is the following:

“When this election's over, you'll see us move very vigorously,” said one senior administration official involved in strategic planning, speaking on condition of anonymity.






“Once you're past the election, it changes the political ramifications” of a large-scale offensive, the official said.

I.e., we're going to wait until after the elections because then no one will care what we do.






If you're a service member in Iraq, or know a service member in Iraq, share this article with other of our troops. They need to know that their lives are being used as political fodder by this president.

– John in DC [AMERICAblog]

I saw this the other day. So, political concerns will drive out military strategy. Can't do anything before Nov. 2. What message does this send to our troops and to our enemies? [A Man with a Ph.D. - Richard Gayle's Weblog]

—-

politics is war by any other means. this is the wrong way to fight a war. everyone knows that. more or less what he is doing is sacrificing a few lives, because the insurgents will have more time to prepare, etc. President Bush as it seems is thus not a military leader at all.