Opinion (Michael Hirsh): Moment of Indecision

Condoleeza Rice, Josh Bolton, and Stephen Hadley at the White House today

George W. Bush is now getting sharply conflicting advice from all sides about what to do in Iraq. This is evidence both that the backlash against the Iraq Study Group report has begun in earnest and that Iraq truly is close to being an unsolvable mess. The announcement this week that Bush's planned pre-Christmas speech on Iraq will be put off until next year shows just how grim the choices are.

But there may be another reason why Bush is waiting a bit to speak to the nation. Inside the Pentagon, some experts think he may intend to launch a new offensive in Baghdad, and that he doesn't want to talk about it until it happens.

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