What, you were expecting something different?

Well, George W. Bush gave his big speech last night, wherein he unveiled his "new" and "improved" strategy: more of the same, plus 20,000 more (technically, accelerating the scheduled deployment of four units and an additional brigade).

Not that this should be a surprise. Given that U.S. military leaders, the troops on the ground, the newly-elected Congress, the majority of Americans, and even the Iraqi Prime Minister all oppose escalating American presence in Iraq, the odds of Bush doing exactly the opposite was as certain as the sun rising in the east -- in other words, a no-brainer, much like Mr. Bush himself.

And in the best dumbest typical Bush tradition, this "surge" is a case of too little, too late. Too little, because all independent analysis shows that an additional 20,000 troops won't be enough to actually make a difference in the war (but it's hard to get more when George has already broken the Army with his Iraq fiasco). And too late, because adding more troops into Iraq should have been done at the beginning of the invasion, before the local insurgency forces had a chance to take root. Unfortunately, by now Iraqi insurgents are as ubiquious as kudzu (except kudzu don't use IEDs). Given that even the UK is pulling troops out of Iraq, it's damn hard not to see Bush's "plan" as anything other than being contrarian for contrarian's sake.

Digging deeper into Bush's speech reveals more disturbing signs: the fact that Bush gave no indication that the "surge" was a short-term plan; the overreliance on Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to actually make things work; and the overt threats against Iran and Syria (and corresponding lack of any efforts to use diplomacy instead), as if this war hasn't been enough of a clusterfuck already -- all wrapped up with the usual bushit about danger and sacrifice (none of it coming from him, of course). Predictable, ham-fisted, and disastrous, just like the man himself.

(An interesting aside: as John Dickerson at Slate points out, isn't it interesting that Bush used his speech to "[ask] the country to embrace Iraqi leadership that, in the same speech, the president portrayed as so fragile it would collapse if U.S. troops pulled back"? No, scratch "interesting", and say "typically contradictory" instead...)

And just to try and find a silver lining in this dark cloud, at the very least this "new" tactic will make for a very interesting 2008 Presidential Election. If John McCain keeps echoing Bush's plan, will he torpedo his own chances for a 2008 Presidential bid? Or will this simply sink the entire GOP, allowing Democrats to cruise into the White House without even trying?

Unfortunately for all of us, Bush's speech was yet another example of how he will readily ignore the best interests of the United States and the world in return for what's best for his oil-industry buddies and contract-chasing cronies...