Who Cares What You Think?

Writes Barnes: "An increase in U.S. forces is not universally popular in the military. Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, has long argued that increasing the size of the force would be counterproductive, angering the very people the U.S. was trying to help. . . .

"James Dobbins, a former U.S. diplomat and advisor to the Iraq Study Group, said many Iraqis believed that U.S. forces put them in danger, rather than improving security.

"'The American troop presence is wildly unpopular in Iraq,' Dobbins said. 'Any effort to double our bet will lead to ever more catastrophic results.'"

The Delay

Jim Rutenberg and David E. Sanger write in the New York Times: "The White House said Tuesday that President Bush would delay presenting any new strategy for Iraq until early next year, as officials suggested that Mr. Bush's advisers were locked in internal debates on several fronts about how to proceed. . . .

"The White House decision prompted criticism from Democratic Congressional leaders and from at least one Republican senator who said Mr. Bush was failing to show sufficient urgency about Iraq despite months of escalating violence there.

"The Iraq Study Group's report last week portrayed the situation in Iraq as 'grave and deteriorating,' and on Tuesday alone, 70 Iraqis were killed and more than 200 wounded in a truck-bomb attack in a central Baghdad square. . . .

"In an interview, Senator Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska Republican who is often critical of the president's war policy, called the delay 'unpardonable' and added: 'Every day that goes by, we are losing ground.' Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said in a statement, 'Waiting and delaying on Iraq serves no one's interests.'"

The Tony Snow Show

Why the delay? Press secretary Tony Snow derided all sorts of plausible explanations at yesterday's press briefing.

" Q Did the military leaders encourage him to just take a little bit more time?

" MR. SNOW: No, no, no. The President is the Commander-in-Chief; he issues orders. He decided, frankly, that it's not ready yet. . . .

" Q So some might infer that the delay means he doesn't know what to do.

" MR. SNOW: No, well, that would be the wrong inference to draw. . . .