Pentagon Floats 3 Iraq trial Balloons

Someone thought these trial balloons should be floated in the media about the super-duper-double-secret Pentagon plans for the future of Iraq.

Pentagon May Suggest Short-Term Buildup Leading to Iraq Exit - washingtonpost.com:

The Pentagon's closely guarded review of how to improve the situation in Iraq has outlined three basic options: Send in more troops, shrink the force but stay longer, or pull out, according to senior defense officials.

Insiders have dubbed the options "Go Big," "Go Long" and "Go Home." The group conducting the review is likely to recommend a combination of a small, short-term increase in U.S. troops and a long-term commitment to stepped-up training and advising of Iraqi forces, the officials said.

A quick look at what these secret plans are?

Plan 1:

"Go Big," the first option, originally contemplated a large increase in U.S. troops in Iraq to try to break the cycle of sectarian and insurgent violence. A classic counterinsurgency campaign, though, would require several hundred thousand additional U.S. and Iraqi soldiers as well as heavily armed Iraqi police. That option has been all but rejected by the study group, which concluded that there are not enough troops in the U.S. military and not enough effective Iraqi forces, said sources who have been informally briefed on the review.

"Go Big" is really a misnomer for this plan... How's this sound:

Go Draft!

Rep. Charles Rangel is busy trying to ensure that this plan is ready to consume the political and business classes' kids if they opt for Go Draft.

OK... How's about Plan 2?

Go Long" -- and calls for cutting the U.S. combat presence in favor of a long-term expansion of the training and advisory efforts. Under this mixture of options, which is gaining favor inside the military, the U.S. presence in Iraq, currently about 140,000 troops, would be boosted by 20,000 to 30,000 for a short period, the officials said.

Go for Broke!

AKA the already debunked McCain plan of sending 20,000 more troops that is also being considered by Joe Lieberman. It won't work since it will break the already over-stretched military even more. It is already going to take years to rebuild the military after what the incompetent ChickenBawks in the GOP have done to them in this last half a decade. Of course, this would also break Iraq even more as well, an there is the fact that Only 8 percent of Americans support this.

1) No troops to send. “Sending more troops to Iraq would, at the moment, threaten to break our nation’s all-volunteer Army and undermine our national security.” McCain suggests enlarging the force to send them to Iraq, an idea that is implausible to carry out over the short-term and would damage the military’s ability to recruit over the long-term.

2) The insurgency would grow more inflamed. “A more visible presence of U.S. troops risks further stoking the flames of the insurgency by feeding perceptions of long-term U.S. occupation among many Iraqis.” The recent effort to increase troop numbers in Baghdad has only increased violence. A recent poll of Iraqis indicated that support for attacks on US-led forces has grown to a majority position — now six in ten — a number sure to increase if more U.S. troops are put on the ground.

--- Think Progress

How's about Plan 3?

"Go Home," the third option, calls for a swift withdrawal of U.S. troops. It was rejected by the Pentagon group as likely to push Iraq directly into a full-blown and bloody civil war.

Sounds suspiciously like what the American voters expected when they voted the GOP out of power in the House and the Senate? Besides... Iraq has been in a CIVIL WAR for a long time. The fact that the Bush appointed leaders still in place refuse to recognize this truth amplifies the reasoning for complete withdrawal. Our soldiers should not have to be subjected to the abuse of these GOP incompetents any longer:

Redeploy!

Phased withdrawal is gaining consensus as the last best option for Iraq. A growing group of experts — including the Iraq Study Group and host of conservative senators — are consolidating behind a redeployment. 63 percent of Americans believe Congress should set a timetable.

--- Think Progress

Makes sense to me. Why not let Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Harry Reid, and Dick Durbin know which secret plan you support? Don't forget to contact your own Representative and Senator to let them know where you stand and what you, the voter, expect from them as well.