Now that Saddam Hussein’s neck has been snapped and his corpse has been safely tucked away in a pine box, we can refocus our attention on…THE NEW WAY FORWARD! (Please click on the audio control below to play four Ruffles and Flourishes and one Hail to the Chief. It’ll get you in the mood.)
There. Now that we’ve established the proper ambience, I’ll press on with the post:
If the news outlets have done their reporting properly—which one can never ascertain with any certainty—it seems that President Bush’s “new way forward” involves a temporary surge in our force levels in Iraq. According to Forbes, the hike may involve up to 20,000 additional troops. Forbes suggests that this might be achieved, among other things, by extending the tours of the 5th and 7th Regimental Combat Teams of the Marine Corps (currently serving in al-Anbar Province), as well as sending the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division to Iraq. Says Forbes:
That brigade [of the 82nd Airborne] is being sent to Kuwait [early next month] to serve as the reserve force, and military commanders have routinely moved the reserve force into Iraq when needed. A typical brigade is about 3,500 soldiers, and moving them in would give an instant boost of troops. […] Several officials said military planners have been working on an array of options, but no one will know what units could be affected until the president decides how many troops he needs and how quickly they have to be in Iraq.
Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but if I were one of the Anbar-deployed 
Teufel Hunden, I’d be pretty bummed to learn about the extension rumor. Al-Anbar is a pretty nasty place nowadays, and I’m pretty sure a lot of those Gyrenes would really like to come home in one piece—no matter how tough or dedicated they are. As for the 82nd Airborne boys and girls, I’d bet a dollar they were copacetic with the idea of deploying to Kuwait in reserve status instead of going directly into the combat zone. Anyway, the president has spent the last month or so “immersing himself in advice”. (Some cynics claim that the only thing he’s been immersing himself in is denial.) Here’s an observation from The New York Times:
The [Marine and 82nd Airborne] option was among those discussed in Crawford, Tex., on Thursday as President Bush met there with his national security team, and it has emerged as a likely course as he considers a strategy shift in Iraq…
Besides considering the aforementioned options, the president has been taking a personal interest in expanding the capacity of the U.S. military. No Man’s Blog sent a correspondent to Crawford, Texas yesterday, and our camera lens was able to capture this exclusive photo of the president and his national security team drilling in preparation for future combat operations:
Did you notice how the president positioned the lone military man in the bunch at the tail of the formation to make sure the rest of them kept in line? Shrewd, Mr. President. Very shrewd. Oh, and our directional mike was able to pick up the rest of what President Bush was saying:
Semper fidelis, Gunny Bush!
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