That was the week in the war that was

...as I believe Walter Cronkite once said.

Ahhhh, the good ol' days...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. war plan has "failed," veteran war correspondent Peter Arnett told Iraqi TV in an interview that aired Sunday.
"The first war plan has failed because of Iraqi resistance. Now they are trying to write another war plan," Arnett said. "Clearly, the American war planners misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces." -- CNN- 31 March, 2003

SADDAM HUSSEIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - So where are the Americans? I prowled the empty departure lounges, mooched through the abandoned customs department, chatted to the seven armed militia guards, met the airport director and stood beside the runways where two dust-covered Iraqi Airways passenger jets -- an old 727 and an even more elderly Antonov -- stood forlornly on the runway not far from an equally decrepit military helicopter.
...the Americans had been caught lying again... --Robert Fisk, 4 April, 2003 - as US Troops secured the perimeter of the Baghdad Airport

Pfc. Jessica Lynch, rescued Tuesday from an Iraqi hospital, fought fiercely and shot several enemy soldiers after Iraqi forces ambushed the Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company, firing her weapon until she ran out of ammunition... Lynch, a 19-year-old supply clerk, continued firing at the Iraqis even after she sustained multiple gunshot wounds and watched several other soldiers in her unit die around her in fighting March 23, one official said. --The Washington Post, 4 Apr, 2003

Ladies and gentlemen, the war in Iraq during the first week in April, 2003, as reported by the mainstream media.

Re: Cuts

Over the past couple of months the media have been attempting to create a narrative on troop drawdowns - as far as I can tell they've been fairly successful at it.

Here's an example from CNN, February 2008:

A pause in the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq after the current reduction is completed in July "makes sense," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Baghdad Monday.
<...>
The official said there is "no determined length" of the pause, but Petraeus wants to "let the dust settle" from the first round of reductions so he can assess the security situation.

Simple facts: The surge added troops to Iraq, and plans are to end it this summer.

Media narrative: There is an ongoing drawdown of troops in Iraq that will be paused this summer. (Inferred/implied: things aren't going as planned, situation isn't good, surge didn't accomplish its goals...)

But I might be wrong - so if someone can provide me with the announcement of this drawdown and its timeline (the action that must exist before it can be "paused") I will post it here and we can track its progress. Otherwise I'm left to speculate that the implications I note above are the sole reason (beyond simply incompetent reporting) for the construction of this odd little narrative.

There are additional phases to this construction, by the way. One is already apparent in the CNN story above: getting quotes from "officials" defending the decision to "pause" the drawdown - which will in turn reinforce both the claim that there is a drawdown and the implications of pausing it. Next, "pundits" will courageously wade in, making the case for or against this "pause". All will "forget" that there was never any action that could be paused.

A few facts on tour lengths: Army units in Iraq now are scheduled for 15-month rotations. Some will complete that term; I expect those who went in as the initial surge" brigades will not get out early (the earliest surge Brigades have already passed the 12-month point anyway). But others will be reduced to 12.

Some of those will not be replaced. Others will. Those Brigades who will replace them will therefore have to go to Iraq 3 months earlier than if the units there had done 15. A round of stories will follow regarding how under-trained, under-equipped, under-qualified and over-deployed these units are. Tearful quotes from soldiers and their family members explaining the impact this has on their lives will be included.

Hope this clears any confusion...

Update: This time last year Democrats in congress were demanding that the President establish a troop withdrawal timeline - they threatened to cut off funding for the Iraq war if he didn't. (We discussed it in several entries here in April 07). This effort failed, but those who report an upcoming "pause" in the withdrawal timeline might not fully grasp that - or perhaps they remember it differently.

There was some hope for a new "timeline" demand when General Petraeus briefed congress last Fall, but that hope faded quickly - even as Hillary Clinton called the man a liar.

Tour Length Cuts

via AP

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration plans to announce next week that U.S. soldiers' combat tours will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months in Iraq and Afghanistan beginning later this summer, The Associated Press has learned. ...Exactly which units would be affected is not yet clear.

via Telegraph

President George W. Bush will signal next week that he will pull no more troops out of Iraq while he is president, once his troop surge ends in the summer.

If one puts together a spreadsheet with all the Army Brigade Combat Teams(not that difficicult,there are only 43 Army BCT's). Take into account at least 18 months reset for the 20 Brigade peak deployment, then those two news reports don't compute.

The key phrase is "Exactly which units will be affected is unclear". The news idiots should wait for the official announement before getting peoples hopes up..and Senior Defense Officials in the Five Sided Rubber Room should keep their mouths shut until which units would be affected is clear.