Opinion (Phillip Carter): Time for 'Plan G' in Iraq?

Above: 'Shock and Awe' was 'Plan A'

In arguing for the current surge of combat forces to Iraq, senior administration officials say they're unwilling to consider a "Plan B" for Iraq—options in case the surge fails. Sen. John McCain echoes this sentiment, as does Gen. David Petraeus in Baghdad, counseling patience while the current plan is put into action.

But defining the current surge as a "Plan A" is a dangerously dishonest move that ignores the history of the Iraq war to date. In fact, since 2003, we have run through at least six plans, none of which has succeeded. The Petraeus plan is something more akin to Plan F—truly, the last Hail Mary play in the fourth quarter. And if it fails, then we better start considering Plan G, also known as "Get out of Iraq."

The strategic history of the Iraq war starts (and some would say ends) with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's deeply flawed theory of "shock and awe."

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