It took me a day or so, but I'm starting to realize what Bush's "troop withdrawal" plan is about, and damn does it scare me.
No, its not about sending the troops to Iraq. Note that much of the withdrawal doesn't happen till 2006.
No, its about withdrawing troops from Iraq. Its about winning the Iraq war. Not in reality of course, its still a disaster on the ground. No, its about withdrawing the troops from Iraq in the public's eye, winning the war on Iraq against the media.
Step back for a second. Bush announces a troop withdrawal. From where? Europe and Asia. Most people don't have more then a vague recollection that we even have troops there. The only public troops around are those in Iraq. And when, off in the corner or your eye, you see something about troop withdrawal, you think Iraq.
This is exactly the same process used to get the American people thinking Iraq and Al Qaeda are linked. The 10% that follow politics or the news obsessively will know exactly what the withdrawal is about. But public opinion doesn't work like that. As news spreads it becomes vague and ill defined. Only the sharpest defined and the most unique details are stressed. The rest becomes a background blur. A blurry war in Iraq is on, boring, but there. A blurry war on terra, boring, but there.
When the troop withdrawal hits the nervous system, well its not the most interesting piece of news is it? It comes in low res, bland, a minor fact. But how do we contextualize this minor fact? Bush's people I believe are betting people will associate the troop withdrawal with Iraq. And if the Democrats don't combat that impression hard, many I'm sure will. Its a nice cap to the Iraq media game. Push the war to the background. Make it seem like the troops are coming home. Make it seem like the Iraq disaster is behind us...