SO A LITTLE EARLIER TONIGHT, I posted BREAKING: Pelosi, Reid cave to Bush on Iraq 'bipartisan panel'.
It referred to tomorrow's story in the Washington Post about the Democrats now agreeing to the need for a 'bipartisan panel' to advise the president on 'terrorism and other important matters', which they had rejected outright 11 days before, in a jointly-signed letter to Bush, as posted on the Speaker's website and headlined:
Pelosi and Reid to President: Congressional Structures Already in Place to Fight Terrorism.
The most recommended comments were How the fuck is this caving? (complete with demand to delete the diary), and BREAKING: Kos Diarist Goes Overboard. Runners up included the usual suspects: 'sick of purists' and 'ignorant of political reality'.
This diary is my reply.
3,081 American troops dead, and counting.
50,000 American troops wounded (but now 20,000 through Pentagon change of definition of wounded)
200,000 to 700,000 Iraqis dead, and counting
1 million Iraqis 'internally displaced'
21,500 troop increase in present force level
57,000 troops already scheduled to deploy this year
3,300 ordered back to Mideast for 3rd tour to support surge, 550 only home 2 weeks
Some troops now on 4th tour of duty
Tours of duty increased to support surge
Increased rotation through reassignment of specialists to 'high-demand roles'
Pentagon abandons Guard, Reserve protections; institutes re-mobilizations up to 24 consecutive months
Top generals tell Congress surge won't end soon; Conway says it's now a 'plus-up'
2nd in Command Odierno says 2 to 3 years needed to reach goals
Top General tells Congress Army near the 'breaking point'
Equipment shortages affecting ability to deploy
Better armor still lacking for troops
$400 billion official cost so far, with some estimating true cost as $2 trillion, and counting.
Pentagon says war cost to rise to $8.5 billion per month
Bush 'authorizes' troops to kill Iranians in Iraq as part of wider Mideast offensive
U.S. launches CIA-Seal-Delta armed task force against Iranians in Iraq
Selective service 'testing' draft machinery
Secretary of AF: Airmen to remain in Iraq past 2010
Army Chief of Staff: Troops to stay in Iraq until 2010
4th year of war, 5th year starts in 2 months
But hey, maybe it's just me. Maybe I should just give those non-binding resolutions and bipartisan panels the chance they deserve.
After all, what could be worse than being a purist, unaware of political reality?
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This diary by Spread the Word: Iraq-Nam, a daily blog on Iraq.
Note: The picture used is in this diary is a screen cap, a Kos-approved method of picture posting.