Peace = War, 1984-style

I haven't really commented on this lately, but I'm not particularily impressed with Bush's plan for the Middle East. ModernOpinion's editorial on the troop surge outlines an opinion that I strongly disagree with, which is that the best way to bring about peace is to escalate the war effort. Time and time again we've seen Bush push for more troops and more money for Iraq, and time and time again we've seen him turn down peace talks and refuse good ol' fashioned diplomacy. Troops have been redeployed, funds have been reallocated to the war, and guess what? We're still at war. The insurgency isn't faltering. This. Isn't. Working.

First off, Bush needs to start listening to the central recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. The problem is that the committee and the President have different goals for Iraq: Bush wants to create a smashing military victory that will give him a 'graceful exit' from his altogether-crummy presidency, and the Iraq Study Group wants to soothe the violence in the Middle East and bring the conflict to an adequate close before more Americans and Iraqis lose their lives, whether or not that means a victory that will leave Bush in a favorable light.

Secondly, the President needs to recognize that engaging Syria and Iran in the negotiations surrounding Iraq is a much better idea than threatening them and ignoring attempts for further communication. Iraq's neighbors will play an important role in determining the country's future, and the last thing we need is for them to be pissed off at our occupation as we roll another twenty thousand troops in.