The New Republic

When George W. Bush set out to sell his surge, he never imagined that he would need to convince the plan’s intellectual authors of its wisdom. But, a week after Bush delivered his State of the Union address, the American Enterprise Institute’s Frederick Kagan began furiously distancing himself from the escalation. “This is not our plan,” he told Salon. His writing partner, former Army Vice Chief of Staff Jack Keane, informed the Senate Armed Services Committee, “[I]t makes no sense to me.” It’s not just the president’s wonk base that has fled. READ MORE >>

Over at Salon, Mark Benjamin lays out a problem some conservatives have with the surge. Benjamin: READ MORE >>

IN IRAQ, SADLY, the troop surge planned by George W. Bush probably won't make much difference. After all, the United States has already surged—the military sent several thousand more troops to Baghdadlast summer—and the violence only got worse. Moreover, theintellectual architects of a new surge—retired General Jack Keane and the American Enterprise Institute's Frederick Kagan—say itwill require 30,000 more troops over 18 months to have a chance of success. READ MORE >>