November 14, 2003
Mark Pierce over at Earthly Passions explains the "double fork" that Bush is facing in Iraq:
Which leads us to the double fork analogy. When playing chess, it is sometimes possible to position a piece in such a way that regardless of the opponent's next move, he will lose one of his own pieces. If he moves his knight, he loses his bishop. If he moves his bishop, he loses his knight. The "fork" results in a lost chess piece no matter which way the opponent moves.
The good news is Bush knows how to stay the course. He is willing to recover from a past mistake and is willing to do what he feels is the right decision, regardless of the media and the polls.
This fork in the policy road is such a "fork". When the Bush Administration chose the Philadelphia of 1787 path, they were accused of not having a plan, of not having enough forces in Iraq to protect American soldiers, and not moving quickly enough to establish Iraqi self-rule.
With the return of Paul Bremer back to Iraq, many believe that the Bush Administration will try the other path, that of quickly installing a provisional Iraqi democracy. If this is the case, it will not be long before the following headlines will scroll across screens. "Imperialist Bush Installs Puppet Government." "U.S. Forces Build - When Will They Come Home?" "U.S. Takes Over Iraqi Oil."
