Speaking of not all being well with the bush surge [Rich Lowry]
There are indeed some worrisome things out there. I noted the positive bits from this Times article that Andy linked to earlier. But there's no denying that the chain-of-command issues in there seem just bizarre (a "partnership"?).
Also, Pace seemed to be giving a Caseyesque gloss to the plan the other day on Capitol Hill. According to the Times a few days ago, Casey wanted two brigades in Baghdad, Petraeus wanted five. Here's Pace: "The 24,000 U.S. in Baghdad right now will be augmented initially by two brigades, total of 7,000, taking it up to 31,000. In the pipeline will be another three brigades of U.S. — another 10,500 — that can go to Baghdad, go to Al Anbar, not go at all, depending upon the situation on the ground." That reads like a split-the-difference approach.
Finally, there's the matter of the Iraqis supposedly taking the lead, which they certainly aren't up to doing.
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