Saturday, August 20, 2005  Four more years! Four more years!
For the U.S. Army in Iraq, that is. On Saturday, Army Chief of
Staff General Peter Schoomaker admitted that the army is
planning to keep at least 100,000 troops in Iraq for at least
the next four years. Planning may not be reality, of course, as
Bush may -- as I anticipate he will -- withdraw a significant
number of troops prior to next year's mid-term elections,* but
those who actually know what's going on in Iraq, or at least
those who face up to what's really going on and therefore avoid
the self-inflicted state of denial that seems to have engulfed
the White House, are clearly preparing for the worst... And it's
good to know that they are, given that "the worst" may very well
turn out to be what actually happens.  * Clearly, the Bush
Administration is in the process, once again, of shifting
rhetorical course without trying to draw attention to what it's
doing, namely, abdicating responsibility for its actions (you
know, the whole invasion, regi