That NIE, made public Dec. 3, embarrassed the administration by concluding that Tehran had halted its weapons program in 2003, which seemed to undermine years of bellicose rhetoric from Bush and other senior officials about Iran's nuclear ambitions. But in private conversations with last week, the president all but disowned the document, said a senior administration official who accompanied Bush on his six-nation trip to the Mideast. "He told the Israelis that he can't control what the intelligence community says, but that [the NIE's] conclusions don't reflect his own views" about Iran's nuclear-weapons program, said the official, who would discuss intelligence matters only on the condition of anonymity.
In other words, "his own views" are whatever the hell he wants to believe, damned be the evidence from the best-funded intelligence service on the planet -- ours.
So assuming he successfully handcuffs the next President to the enlarged War, probably hoping his violence tips the scales to maybe John McCain, what else is he looking to lock in?
There's digging into Afghanistan:
Military officials said Monday that about 3,200 Marines are being told to prepare to go to Afghanistan _ a move that will boost combat troop levels in time for an expected Taliban offensive this spring.Once complete, the deployment would increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan to as much as 30,000, the highest level since the 2001 invasion after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Maybe just positioning for Cheney/Bush attack plans on Iran?
And how about another ten years in Iraq:
The Iraqi defense minister said Monday that his nation would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq’s borders from external threat until at least 2018.
Wow, President Obama's may actually be the one who brings the troops home...after President Clinton's second term...
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