Last stand in Iraq

Once again President Bush has gone before a war-weary nation to outline a "new way forward" in Iraq and ask for patience. But his way promises only to delay the day of reckoning that is drawing near.



His way will lead to an increase in American casualties and further strain our military.

His way forces U.S. military commanders to carry out a policy that they strongly advised against.

His way ignores overwhelming public and congressional opposition to the war.

His way is an escalation to the fighting that is unlikely to end the sectarian slaughter of innocents, force the Shiite majority to compromise with the Sunni minority, or achieve national reconciliation and political stability.

This administration has a misereable record of failure in Iraq.

There is no reason to believe adding another 21,500 troops to the 132,000 already in Iraq will turn the tide in that shattered country where sectarian hatred and mistrust runs deep.

However Bush's "surge" strategy turns out the President has to know that this is his last stand in Iraq. It it fails, the only option will be to point U.S. troops towards the exit.