BUSH AND THE MILITARY….In the LA Times today, Tyler Marshall and Mark Mazzetti offer this assessment of George Bush’s speech at the Naval Academy:
After months of a lingering disconnect between the White House and senior military commanders, Bush’s comments also seemed to bring him into line not just with America’s military, but with the rest of his administration.
Repeatedly, military commanders have made the case that only a draw-down of U.S. troops would make Iraqi forces take control of their nation’s security. They also argue that the very presence of American troops ? viewed as occupiers by most Iraqis ? helps drive the insurgency.
On Wednesday, Bush finally seemed to accept the argument.
Actually, I hope this is true. But I doubt it. Bush said a lot of things in his speech today, but the military arguments in favor of a drawdown weren’t among them. In fact, they were conspicuously missing. I didn’t get the sense that he’s modified his views in any way at all.
