A war without end, a military under strain

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Troubling news from NBC's Jim Miklaszewski:

Coming on the heels of a controversial "surge" of 21,000 U.S. troops that has stretched the Army thin, the Defense Department is preparing to send an additional 12,000 National Guard combat forces to Iraq and Afghanistan.

As well, SecDef Gates has indicated that the surge will last longer than expected -- or, rather, longer than the warmongers, both in and out of the White House, have been saying it would last. Which hardly comes as a surprise. This was clearly their plan all along. Which is why Democrats and the war's other critics and opponents, both in and out of Congress, must continue to fight aggressively not just for an end to the escalating surge but to the war itself.

(And why, ultimately, the key will be winning in '08.)

Taking the warmongers at their word -- taking the president at his -- is for suckers.