GOING WIDE. I don't yet know what to make of the saber-rattling against Iran in Bush's speech last night, but I do know that it makes me look again at an e-mail I received earlier in the week from Iraq war veteran and VoteVets founder Jon Soltz, which I had previously dismissed out of hand as rather wild speculation, where he argues that the surge is actually designed to protect American forces and deal with Mahdi Army retaliation against Americans in the event of a confrontation with Iran, because everyone knows it's not large enough to actually pacify Iraq or end the bloodshed in Baghdad.
UPDATE. A reader writes: "Well, [Soltz] proceeds from the right premises, but I am curious as to why he ignores the obvious and probable reason for the mismatch in stated ends and means: plain old incompetence."
--Garance Franke-Ruta
