Matt Y., writing in TAPPED:

By the same token, of course, events in Iraq will affect the election in the United States. Recent reports of a deterioration of the American position threaten to derail the Bush campaign, hence the effort to perform a little jujitsu and make the argument that the worsening situation is a token of jihadists’ love for Kerry. First and foremost, of course, the president must keep the body count low if he wants to win. Iraqi deaths and shifts of public opinion are the stuff of the inside pages of our newspapers. Dead Americans make page 1 and the evening news. When enough die, it may even lead the news, or make the local news. It wouldn't be prudent to let that happen. So Bush has adopted policies designed to keep the death count low, primarily by avoiding ground combat in the Sunni triangle. Good campaign tactics, needless to say, but, as ever, the Bush team seems better at winning elections than winning wars. By delaying any assault on the wily Salafi terrorists (read: Democratic campaign operatives) lurking in Fallujah, Samarra, Ramadi, and Baquba until after November, we give them more time to dig in, prepare defenses, and strengthen their forces before the attack.

An important point comes next, so it gets a paragraph of its own: This plan will get people killed. If an assault is to be mounted, it should be done as soon as possible, before the adversary has been given months to prepare for it. The Marines and soldiers serving in Iraq volunteered for the military, but they've been conscripted into the Bush campaign. Decisions, as Lieutenant General James Conway recently stated, are being made on the basis of narrow political considerations rather than military ones. It's appropriate for generals to be subordinate to civilian politicians, but not to civilian campaign strategists. We're waging war as an extension of an electoral campaign, exposing our soldiers to harassing attacks right now and to a more difficult fight later on in order to help secure the president's re-election.

It's sickening.