Hedging on the Surge

As I've argued earlier, I think unqualified support for President Bush's decision to "surge" the number of troops stationed in Iraq is a pretty big gamble for any of the 2008 presidential candidates. The situation in Iraq looks grim and, whatever the outcome, it likely won't be pretty. I think the issue has the power to undo the candidacies of several 2008 presidential hopefuls if they are not careful.

John McCain has been one of the most staunch supporters of the surge, but it seems that he is now beginning to hedge his bets. He is rumored to be drafting a new Iraq resolution that sets "benchmarks" in an attempt to blunt the impact of two other resolutions that are currently making their ways through Congress. Meanwhile, Sam Brownback, who came out against a surge earlier this month, said today that he did not "rule out" voting against the surge at some point.

Mitt Supports Troop Surge

In anticipation of Bush's expected announcement this evening that he will increase the number of troops in Iraq for the time being, Romney sent out a press release this morning expressing support for such a surge. In it he said:

I believe securing Iraqi civilians requires additional troops. I support adding five brigades in Baghdad and two regiments in Al-Anbar province. Success will require rapid deployment.

What are the implications of this in the primary next year? If the war continues to go as badly as it has this past year, will this decision have any negative consequences in a general election?