And so the American generals in Iraq have finally taken their cue, and they have announced that they too are in favor of “the surge”. This comes as a sharp reversal of course by General George Casey and other generals, who had consistently adopted the previous party line that no additional troops were needed for the Iraq campaign, and indeed, more troops would only increase resentment at perceived foreign occupiers and further delay the day that Iraqi forces could take over on their own.

We’ll set aside the obvious question about where 20,000 additional combat troops that do not presently exist will come from, and ask the more obvious question of who is expected to buy this rotting load of tripe? Supposedly the generals have concluded that the new “big problem” is no longer the Al Qaeda led proto-state developing in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, the Sunni insurgents actually being responsible for most of the American casualties… no, the new “big problem” is Moqtada “Baby” Sadr and his Mahdi Army and aligned Shiite militias. Of course, right now, these groups, aligned with the Iraqi government we have installed, are in control of a hell of a lot of territory and people… and as of yet, haven’t been big players in attacking Americans. Unless, of course, we adopt a strategy change that causes them to… THEN we would NEED a whole lot more troops! Not to mention… body bags and coffins.

To some degree because of outrage over how the Iraq war is going, the voters have ousted the Republican majorities from both Houses of Congress, and polling shows that most people unequivocally want a change in the direction of the Iraq war, a war whose underpinnings (Saddam’s WMDs, bringing “democracy” to the Middle East, “bringing the war to the terrorists”, etc.) have each been shown to be baseless… in short, on this December 23rd a/k/a “Festivus”, we appear to celebrate a war about nothing.

The “Iraq Study Group” is, of course, perceived by most people as Poppy Bush sending in the chief family retainer Jim Baker and the chief family enabler Lee Hamilton to have “the grownups” bail out Junior from the Iraq folly by offering him a “reasonable” course of pulling back (rather than “surging”) combat troops and negotiating with regional betes noires Iran and Syria. Such a proposal is, of course, not inconsistent with what many Democrats are suggesting be done. As such, however, their proposals are unacceptable. In fact, the Iraq Study Group presents nothing particularly new or revolutionary. It is simply another form of white noise– a diversion. Tell us what we already know. So we won’t pay attention to the fact that it has nothing to do with actual policy. Naturally, “the surge” is not all that different from something previously suggested by, oh, John Kerry and other Democrats, though some years ago when it might arguably have done some good. Now, it’s just a game. Another cover for the intended instability: the mission whose intent was simply to keep things stirred up on top so that Iraqi oil would remain under the ground.

Now, of course, that “the surge” is Rove’s Bush’s idea, the generals have come round to realizing what a great strategy it actually is. I mean, what do the American people and the Iraq study group and everyone else on Earth know? I have read it suggested that one of the numerous accomplishments of the Bush Administration would be the ultimate destruction of our uniformed services, through the Bush-Rumsfeld policy of elevating yes-men over competent professionals. That day appears to have finally arrived.

Another Festivus miracle.