When the course is dictated by the rut you dug... keep on rutting.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. More than 3,500 Iraqis were killed last month, the highest civilian monthly toll since the war began. Are you disappointed with the lack of progress by Iraq's unity government in bringing together the sectarian and ethnic groups?
THE PRESIDENT: No, I am aware that extremists and terrorists are doing everything they can to prevent Iraq's democracy from growing stronger. That's what I'm aware of.
(...)Q I'm talking about strategy --
THE PRESIDENT: The strategy is to help the Iraqi people achieve their objectives and their dreams, which is a democratic society. That's the strategy. The tactics -- now, either you say, yes, its important we stay there and get it done, or we leave. We're not leaving, so long as I'm the President. That would be a huge mistake. It would send an unbelievably terrible signal to reformers across the region. It would say we've abandoned our desire to change the conditions that create terror. It would give the terrorists a safe haven from which to launch attacks. It would embolden Iran. It would embolden extremists.
Ok, folks... here's the strategy: No matter how standed up the Iraqis may be, they can rest assured we'll still be there in January '09. He's not disappointed in the lack of progress because it provides the justification he needs to keep us in the theatre of battle. Infinite chicken and egg loop hatched by the chief chickenhawk.
Remember these points, in November.
The daily death toll from violence in Iraq now stands at more than 3,000 a month, or averaging more than 100 killings a day.