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Republicans close ranks

The expectation that a major change in the Iraq policy of the United States would occur in September 2007 has been belied. Several Democratic Senators had drawn up plans for deep cuts in the strength of the occupation army that could have resulted in a substantial withdrawal by the middle of 2008. With Republicans refusing to break ranks, the party that holds the majority in both Houses was unable to muster sufficient votes to offset filibusters or overcome a likely presid ential veto. Moderate Republicans had indicated at one time or another that they could go along with the Democrats if the plans were slightly modified. However, at the end of the extensive and intense congressional debates, the Grand Old Party rallied behind President George Bush. The Republicans sought to give the impression that the arguments put forward during the hearings by the ground commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, had persuaded them to stick with Mr. Bush’s plan to maintain the troop strength at 160,000 for at least another six months. Claims of this sort are not entirely credible. General Petraeus was never likely to take the position that the enhanced deployment — the ‘surge’ — carried out from the beginning of 2007 on the orders of the commander-in-chief had not resulted in the stabilisation of Iraq. The Republicans would have also known that the statistical and other evidence provided by the army commanders did not tell the whole story.

Over the last two months, there have been very few incidents of bomb attacks taking a heavy toll. This particular statistical detail does not prove that the surge has worked. Deployment levels were increased in order to provide better security so that the various communities and sects in Iraq would have the opportunity to reconcile their differences. This has simply not happened. In fact, at the political level, the estrangement between parties has worsened; and at the mass level, ethnic cleansing has persisted. Hardly anyone who lives outside Mr. Bush’s delusional bubble believes that the Iraqis will work together to set up a stable, unified, and democratic state. Republican sceptics continue to support the President’s plans for more mundane political considerations. While a majority of the American people has turned against the war, the hard core of the GOP’s base retains faith in Mr. Bush. Those among the Republicans who will need to defend their seats in the 2008 election cycle seem to have calculated that this base is not going to crack any time soon.

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