It's the Oil

Iraq Gov. Gives Cool Response to Troop Surge
In Iraq, the Shiite-led government gave what the New York Times calls a “grudging endorsement” of the plan to send more troops. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki failed to attend a news conference and did not give any public comment.

Soldiers Barred from Media at Bush Speech
Meanwhile, President Bush traveled to the military base at Fort Benning, Georgia Thursday in what critics called a photo-opportunity visit.
President Bush: “Imagine what would happen if these extremists who hate America gained control of energy reserves. You can bet they would use those reserves as blackmail in order to achieve their objectives. If we were to leave Iraq. If we were to fail, Iran would be emboldened in terms of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have safe havens in which to launch attacks. People would look back at this moment in history and say what happened to them in America. How come they couldn't see the threats to future generations. That is why we must and we will succeed in Iraq.”
The Los Angeles Times reports Bush’s military audience gave him a less enthusiastic reception than on previous visits to promote his Iraq policy. Most of the soldiers at Fort Benning have already served in Iraq. The White House and military officials barred the soldiers from speaking to reporters before or after the President’s speech.

Pentagon Drops Limits on Reservists’ Active Duty
In a sign of increasing strain on the military, the Pentagon announced Thursday its doing away with a time limit on how long reserve soldiers can serve on active duty. Citizen-soldiers had previously been allowed to serve no more than a cumulative total of twenty-four months. The new policy will mean reservists can be sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan so long as those 24 months are not consecutive. The Pentagon says in practice it will try to limit mobilizations to 12 months at a time.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Pentagon chief of personnel David Chu said the changes are “no big deal.” Chu says most reservists implicitly understood their time in active duty would eventually go beyond the previous limit. The announcement came as Defense Robert Gates said he will recommend the US military add another 92,000 troops over the next five years.