From: John Cuccia 

Here's some good news.

The US military leadership has enough sense to oppose White House plans for
escalation of the conflict in Iraq.   We'll soon find out if
W is telling the truth when he says he listens to what his generals have to tell him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121801477
.html
The Bush administration is split over the idea of a surge in troops to
Iraq, with White House officials aggressively promoting the concept over
the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to U.S.
officials familiar with the intense debate.

Sending 15,000 to 30,000 more troops for a mission of possibly six to eight
months is one of the central proposals on the table of the White House
policy review to reverse the steady deterioration in Iraq. The option is
being discussed as an element in a range of bigger packages, the officials
said.

But the Joint Chiefs think the White House, after a month of talks, still
does not have a defined mission and is latching on to the surge idea in
part because of limited alternatives, despite warnings about the potential
disadvantages for the military, said the officials, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity because the White House review is not public.

The chiefs have taken a firm stand, the sources say, because they believe
the strategy review will be the most important decision on Iraq to be made
since the March 2003 invasion.

At regular interagency meetings and in briefing President Bush last week,
the Pentagon has warned that any short-term mission may only set up the
United States for bigger problems when it ends.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5