String Of Bombings In Iraq; 17 Dead; Bush Plans To Pull Out Troops And Declare Success

The MSM should be blistering Bush/Scotty with questions about plans to pull out troops beginning in the spring. Even under the non-reality-based world of Bush, there is no way to pretend that things are stabilizing in Iraq. A string of bombings killed 17 yesterday. Other fun news: the mayor of Baghdad was fired and no one knows why and people rioted in a Shiite city because of no dependable electricity or water.

Is there any reason other than midterm elections for Bush to pull out troops beginning in the spring? The insurgency is stronger than ever, bombers are ripping the country apart and even the US can't keep the country stable.

Soldiers on the ground insist they need more troops. Everyone knows Bush has enough soldiers to "clear out" a city of insurgents but not enough to keep the city secure. As soon as they pull out, more insurgents go back in. Doesn't Iraq need more troops, not less?

Numerous reports make clear that claiming Iraq has 170,000 troops is at best grossly misleading. Can Bush break that down for us? How many troops are capable of fighting on their own? Isn't that the only figure that matters? Numerous reports indicate that they don't even have enough EQUIPMENT for 170,000 troops, much less that many soldiers. Other reports say most of those soldiers just show up for a check or never even existed in the first place. Who determines this number? How is it broken down? How do we confirm it with our own intelligence?

If Iraq only has 2000 troops capable of fighting on their own; 9,000 troops capable of fighting with our help and most of the rest of the soldiers claimed don't even exist or just show up to get their check, how can Bush even be thinking of pulling out troops in time for midterm elections?