Iraq Occupation To Continue - More Troops Needed

Bush has changed direction on Iraq. He has moved from supporting a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops, to recommitting himself to full engagement. Bush is on the campaign (money) trail, and rejecting any form of withdrawal from Iraq. Of course, this means more U.S. troops will be needed, so he has authorized the Marines to start calling up the IRR (Individual Ready Reserve). Bush's recommitment to Iraq, comes as people finally realize that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11/01, or al Qaeda.

By law, only 2500 IRRs may be called at a time. The Army started calling up their IRR in 2001, though most have been called up since 2004. The Marines have a pool of 59,000 IRRs to draw on. All IRRs may ultimately get the "opportunity" to serve on active duty again, as Bush's authorization lasts until the end of the "Global War on Terror" (BBC, 8/23/06).

The Individual Ready Reserve of the various services are those who have served their required time on active duty and be released. However, the military commitment extends beyond active duty. Troops may serve the remaining time in the Active Reserves, or they may go to the IRR. Most of those who opted for the Reserves have been deployed. Many of the Marines in the current IRR have already served in active duty in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Bush (and his policies) are losing support at home according to recent polls. While the administration continues to try and link Iraq to 9/11, increasing numbers of people are not buying it, and support for that American war in Iraq continues to drop. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that the real winner in the Bush "global war on terror" is Iran. A recently released report from a British thinktank (pdf), Chatham House, argues that the various U.S. engagements and policies in the region have strengthened Iran's power and position. In particular, the controlling factors of opposing governments in Afghanistan and Iraq have left open doors for Iranian influence. Likewise, the recent conflict between Israel and Hizbullah, with full US support, has generated additional status for Iran.

The current policies seem to almost fit a plan to increase the regional influence of Iran, while building up the perceived threat against the United States. This seems to be a strategy aimed at ultimately legitimating an invasion of Iran by the U.S. The U.S. continues to make demands of Iran, that Iran will never support, while pushing for the rapid application of UN sanctions on Iran. Among those requirements, and certainly a condition of the sanctions, is that Iran stop its uranium enrichment program and allow full access to inspectors. However, the U.S. refuses to take "regime change" in Iran off the table.

As was clear in the Lebanon/Israel debacle, there is a major effort to build support for invading Iran and Syria. While the hope of the U.S. may have been to draw Syria and Iran directly into the Israeli conflict, that failed - so far. However, the UN is pushing for UN forces along the border between Lebanon and Syria, and Syria is saying they will not tolerate that.

It is looking as if Bush is hoping for an open conflict with Iran before he gets out of office. It remains to be seen whether the world will tolerate such a move, and if the U.S. will have to start a draft to full its forces for a multi-generational "Global War on Terror."