Take it for what it is
Posted on April 26, 2006 - Filed Under Uncategorized
CNN is reporting that the General in charge of operations in Iraq may reduce troop levels by 30,000 by the end of the year. That’s great news, especially for the families who have people over there and for the average taxpayer. However, I really hope people don’t think this is “so awesome!! I like the president again…look at what he’s doing!” or “Why are all those people calling for Rumsfeld to resign? Look at the progress he’s making.” It is certainly very much a possibility that this is a ploy, in this mid-term election year, to draw back some support for the current administration. The Republican congress people having been pulling themselves away from the president for some time now. They are currently in the process of campaigning to keep their jobs and will probably go back to their home districts and laud the president for this latest move. This one little piece of news may cause those folks contemplating not voting Republican to go ahead and do so. Anyway, just a thought.
The other thing I would like to say about Bush and Iraq also has to do with the number 30,000, specifically 30,000 square miles of Iraq. When the president stated at Johns Hopkins on 10Apr that Iraqi forces have now taken control of that amount, I think he was banking on the average American not going out on the Internet and finding out just how much of a ratio that is. Well, I dread the thought of being an average American, so I did that research. The CIA World Fact Book lists Iraq as being comprised of approximately 432,000 sq kilometers of land area. This calculates to approximately 166,000 sq miles. Division reveals that, according to the president, the Iraqi forces now control 19% of their own country. People in our country are often impressed by numbers, not knowing anything about the meaning of those numbers. Think about it: 19%. Are you satisfied with the figure when you hear it in perspective?
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