Somebody hand this brain trust a mirror: I couldn’t believe my ears when Bush said this in his “Things are great in Iraq” speech yesterday.

And my decisions on troop levels will be made based upon the conditions on the ground, and the recommendations of our military commanders — not artificial timetables set by politicians here in Washington, D.C.

Hello? Anybody home? Will someone please tell our president that he holds the highest — let me just pause for emphasis here — elected office in the land, which he “won” by running against other people who ran, and these people who run for offices in our country are referred to as “politicians.”

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but the White House is located right where all those politicians are, in Washington, D.C. That means Bush, who lives in the White House (for now), is in Washington, D.C.

Let’s review: the decisions on troop levels in Iraq will be made a politician in Washington, D.C.

Jeez.

Bush’s Folly Could Spread War to Wider Region

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told the Los Angeles Times that by invading Iraq, the United States has laid the way to a regional sectarian war between Sunni and Shiite Musliims in the Middle East:

“We have opened the Pandora’s box and the question is, what is the way forward? The way forward, in my view, is an effort to build bridges across [Iraq’s] communities.”

Khalilzad argues that the United States must stay the course in Iraq, no matter how bleak things become.The other option, pulling out of Iraq, would result in a disaster similar to U.S. disengagemeent in the past from civil wars in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Somalia.

In other words, we broke it, so we bought it.

Washington Post-ABC News:

An overwhelming majority of the public believe fighting between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq will lead to civil war and half say the United States should begin withdrawing its forces from that violence-torn country, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey found that 80 percent believed that recent sectarian violence made civil war in Iraq likely, and more than a third said such a conflict was “very likely” to occur. These expectations extend beyond party lines: More than seven in 10 Republicans and eight in 10 Democrats and political independents believe such a conflict is coming.

Let’s assume the Bush Administration planted this story to boost their poll numbers:

All British and United States troops serving in Iraq will be withdrawn within a year in an effort to bring peace and stability to the country.

The news came as defence chiefs admitted privately that the British troop commitment in Afghanistan may last for up to 10 years.

The planned pull-out from Iraq follows the acceptance by London and Washington that the presence of the coalition, mainly composed of British and US troops, is now seen as the main obstacle to peace.

According to a senior defence source directly involved in planning the withdrawal, Britain is the driving force behind the scheme. The early spring of next year has been identified as the optimum time for the start of the complex and dangerous operation.

The source explained that troop numbers were expected to decrease slightly over the next 12 months but that the bulk of British and American forces, who make up 138,000 of the coalition’s 153,000 troops, would be withdrawn simultaneously.

The British and American military had hoped to begin removing their forces from Iraq this year but those plans were shelved because of worsening security and the failure of both Sunni and Shia leaders to form a government of national unity.

The source added that the British Army had still not recovered – in terms of training and intervals between operational tours – from the war in Iraq almost three years ago.

According to the new Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll, just one in five troops — 72 percent — agrees with President Bush that the United States should stay “as long as they are needed” in Iraq.

There is a terrifying number in the poll however: Almost 90 percent think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11, most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks.

Remember the equation set forth by the GOP message machine:

Criticizing President Bush = Hating America

The latest America-hating critic of Dear Leader is the elder statesman of conservative fantasists himself, William F. Buckley. Under the headline “It Didn’t Work,” he writes:

One can’t doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed… And the administration has, now, to cope with failure..

Mr. Bush has a very difficult internal problem here because to make the kind of concession that is strategically appropriate requires a mitigation of policies he has several times affirmed in high-flown pronouncements. His challenge is to persuade himself that he can submit to a historical reality without forswearing basic commitments in foreign policy.

He will certainly face the current development as military leaders are expected to do: They are called upon to acknowledge a tactical setback, but to insist on the survival of strategic policies.

Yes, but within their own counsels, different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the acknowledgment of defeat.

So Buckley is one of those cut-and-runners, huh? He’d better watch out for Swiftboaters. Bushistas don’t take kindly to this kind of talk. The next thing you know, they’ll be questioning his conservative credentials.

Hat Tip to LL & ST

“Nobody denies that [Saddam Hussein] was supporting al-Qaeda…Well, I shouldn’t say nobody. Nobody with brains.”

— Sen. Orin Hatch, Republican of Utah, perhaps forgetting that the 9/11 Commission said there was no connection between the secular Iraqi government and Islamic fundamentalists

More violence to come: An Australian news service has released more of the hundreds of photos of abused prisoners taken at Abu Grahib prison in Baghdad in 2003. The photos aired by SBS TV are from the same source as the photos released in 2004 that led to handful of military personnel being jailed.

No one in the upper levels of the Pentagon or the Bush Administration — which approved the torturing of captives — has ever been held accountable for the abuse.