So it looks almost certain that Bush won’t be waiting for September 15th – the date set for a reassessment of the “surge” – to draw down troops from Iraq. The defection of major Republican lawmakers now also calling on the president to deescalate the conflict has made it impossible for him to keep staying the course. But how can I be so sure Bush will capitulate? Well, because he’s already come up with an expression for what will be seen as nothing less than a complete about-face. Are you ready for it? It’s going to be called the “post-surge redeployment.” Catchy, no? That’s the phrase the papers today are saying the White House has chosen. And it’s safe to assume that if they’ve already got a name, as clunky and desperate as it sounds, that it’s a done deal.
Gal Beckerman is a former staff writer at CJR and a writer and editor for the New York Times Book Review.
the kicker
