Could someone please explain to me why everyone is framing today's story about Bush's "new" plan for Iraq like this? Here's just one example from the Post:
Bush Backs Petraeus on Indefinite Suspension of Troop Pullout in IraqPresident Bush ordered an indefinite suspension yesterday of troop withdrawals from Iraq this summer but promised that the war "is not endless" as he braced for a new election-year showdown with Congress over the conflict's economic cost and long-term future.
With Bush effectively freezing troop levels at 140,000 in August, Congress moved to challenge him on two fronts. Democratic leaders prepared to amend war-funding legislation to limit his options and to direct money to domestic priorities, while lawmakers from both parties took on his plan to sign a strategic agreement with Iraq that would outlast his presidency.
The decision to accept Army Gen. David H. Petraeus's plan to halt withdrawals after the extra combat brigades that were sent last year depart in July means that Bush probably will bequeath his successor a force about as large as it has been for most of the past five years. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he has given up hope of scaling back to 100,000 troops in Iraq by the end of 2008, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker indicated that he expects the war to last several more years.
"I've told him he'll have all the time he needs," Bush said of Petraeus after having breakfast with his Iraq commander and his Iraq ambassador at the White House. "Some have suggested that this period of evaluation will be a pause. That's misleading because none of our operations in Iraq will be on hold. Instead, we will use the months ahead to take advantage of the opportunities created by the surge."
The President used to love reminding all of us - even those of us not in the military - that he is our Commander in Chief. (As a civilian, I have no Commander in Chief, a very simple and obivous fact that no one seems to recognize) As the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, he is Gen. Petraeus's commanding officer. So could someone please explain to me why the media goes along with the president in covering this "I'm approving the proposals of the generals under my command" charade as if it were somehow newsworthy? I mean, does anyone really think that Petraeus would be allowed by Bush to publicly announce his plans for Iraq if they weren't already approved? Petraeus went to Capitol Hill this week on behalf of his Commander in Chief. Everyone already knows this. And yet.... "Bush Backs Petraeus on Indefinite Suspension of Troop Pullout in Iraq."
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