They're calling it the "surge option." Massive increase in troops to get things under control. It sounds more like the Pentagon's version of a Hail Mary pass, except a lot of people will die:
Pentagon officials conducting a review of Iraq strategy are considering a substantial but temporary increase in American troop levels and the addition of several thousand more trainers to work with Iraqi forces, a senior Defense Department official said Monday.The same brain-trust that got us in to this mess just can't figure out how to get us out of this mess. Instead of de-escalating, they're on the verge of escalating the mess.
The idea, dubbed the “surge option” by some officials, would involve increasing American forces by 20,000 troops or more for several months in the hope of improving security, especially in Baghdad. That would mark a sharp rise over the current baseline of 144,000 troops.
Don't forget. Increasing the number of troops in Iraq by 20,000 is John McCain's brilliant idea, too.
