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politics

elections

Yes, indeed.

Senior U.S. commanders in Iraq, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said troop levels are likely to come down next year, whatever scenario plays out on the ground. The purpose of the current troop increase is to give the Iraqi government time to make political accommodations that could reduce sectarian violence. If that happens, they say, the United States could begin cutting forces by March 2008, when the stress on U.S. troops would reach a critical point.
And if the troop increase does not lead to political progress, as many U.S. officials fear, then by early next year there will be little reason to maintain the current level of forces. So, although the White House remains far from a final decision, military planners anticipate that the U.S. troop presence in Iraq could be reduced in 2008.

I think we can all agree that if we drastically reduce the number of troops when the 2008 election push gets really hot -- after all the primaries but before the national conventions -- we can claim a "victory" in Iraq and prove it with the lower troop levels.

It's a bad war strategy, but a good political strategy -- one that supports a possible Republican victory in 2008.