Withdrawal from Iraq in 2007: The Rumors

First, let’s admit the British media has been spot on as they would say about Iraq – not the hideous tabloids, but the Telegraph and the Independent, and the BBC. Okay, maybe not spot on, but much better than the New York Times. After all, they produced the Downing Street memo and numerous other stories going back to how the 2000 Presidential Election was stolen.
You recall the Downing Street memo being a big story here, don’t you?
Oh, that’s right. I forgot. Our reporters turned in their scrotum sacks right after 9/11. That was the internal British document proving the intelligence for the war was being “fixed” around the policy. That alone should have led to Bush’s impeachment, but the Republicans in Congress offered more than just their sacks – they offered up their souls. That’s right, they’re sitting in a jar on Karl Rove’s desk.
So how are things going now? Last week the British papers reported that the decision to leave Iraq was on for next Spring, but is it true? Our government and military denied it but they seemed to protest just a little too much. Remember Murtha's comment that we are going to leave - they just don't want it widely known? Murtha spoke like someone who had been told some information by his many friends at the Pentagon. But why are the denials so strenuous?
See, this is flying in the face of that famous Bush resolve, and all those speeches about not setting a timetable. It's also going to the crucial admission that Iraq was a big mistake. Of course, there are other possibilities. Maybe the whole thing is just another Karl Rove trick to neutralize the issue. You will always have to wonder what evil scheme Rove is up to now. Perhaps the administration is just telling Tony Blair what he wants to hear. If however, it's a false story from left field, why not dismiss it with a shrug?
There’s also a chance that we will pull out, except for the 4 long-term bases. I don’t think this administration ever really cared about Iraq’s democratic future. They haven’t acted particularly caring about our own. They just wanted more of the Middle East. I still believe the whole thing was driven by two plans: Enriching their base and grabbing as much power as possible. I will admit that I doubted the withdrawal story because it seemed too good. Getting our troops out of Iraq? That would be nice. This makes so much sense that President Bush would never go for it.
But when the administration started denying the rumors so vigorously, I sensed the British papers were on to something. Why not announce it now so the insurgents will possibly lay off our troops? Pride - stupid stubborn “we can’t make a mistake”-type pride. Karl Rove and the rest of the spin junkies in this administration want to delay the moment when everyone knows it was a failure and a colossal disaster. We’ll look at all these thousands of wounded young Americans, and know on that day, that it really didn’t have to happen. All of us – not just over half.
You can’t blame the Bush administration for wanting to put that realization off as long as possible.