Thus are dubbed the three plans by the Pentagon on what to do about Iraq. According to the Washington Post:
The Pentagon’s closely guarded review of how to improve the situation in Iraq has outlined three basic options: Send in more troops, shrink the force but stay longer, or pull out, according to senior defense officials.
It will be interesting to see how these ideas match up with the much-anticipated Baker Commission report.
William Arkin the Washington Post’s National and Homeland Security blogger has an interesting take on this issue. Well worth reading.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2006/11/the_fake_options_debate.html#more
Go home. Big and long have been tried. 6 more months, right? Just around the corner?
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I’m rather skeptical that the Baker Commission is going to produce an honest or useful product. First, it’s not going to say anything greatly at odds with what the White House is saying. Sure, it will push the margins of the White House’s position, but I’ll be shocked if it actually says anything substantively different. Second, I’m worried that, in the service of “collegiality” and “bipartisanship”, the Dems on the panel are going to sign onto whatever majority report the panel issues. Then, when whatever the Baker panel proposes doesn’t work, it will then be “everyone’s fault”, taking the blame for Iraq away from where it truly belongs – on the shoulders and soul of Bush. Once again, Baker will have bailed him out.