Nothing to brag about

Joe Galloway, noted war correspondent, doesn't think much of the "new" new policy for placating Iraq:

The security forces of the new, weak Iraqi government vanish before the killing starts and reappear only after it's done — except for those who participate in the slaughter or facilitate it. Some of those come from the government's Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry.

A couple thousand more Americans on the streets of Baghdad won't contribute much, except to the number of Americans being killed and wounded there. But the places they left are going to miss them in the worst way.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with his new way of war — high-tech weapons taking the place of soldiers on the ground — began this war with half the number of U.S. troops needed for the job and no plan to secure the peace.

It's the soldiers and Marines who are still there, many on their second or third combat tours, who continue to pay the price for poor leadership, half-baked tactics and no strategy worthy of the name.

Say a prayer for them tonight, and every night. That's more support than they'll get from the halls of power in Washington.