So I am here in D.C. spending Christmas with the inlaws and actually reading the print version of the WaPo. The lead story is about how Powell expressed concerns to Bush that troop levels in Iraq were too low. It is an interesting article about secret meetings with Blair and Powell. But buried in the 10th paragraph is this little nuggett:
Both officials who discussed the meeting noted that the president a few weeks later decided to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq in an effort to improve security before the Iraqi elections, scheduled for the end of January. It is not clear how much Powell's comments influenced that decision.
Wait a minute, what do you mean "Bush decided"? All we have been hearing for a year now is that it was not Bush or Rummy's decision on troop levels, but the Army's. "They get all the troops they ask for" we have been repeatedly told. But now it turns out that Bush could decide to put in more troops whenever he wanted (whiche we all knew). There it is in black and white (and cool dkos grey) will anyone notice? I doubt it.