Fatal Flaws

His name may be a tongue twister, but his clear analysis cuts like a laser.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Carter, found "Five Flaws in the President's Plan" to increase our troop footprint in Iraq by 21,500 as presented in Bush's Wednesday-night-massacre speech. The flaws:

ONE - While acknowledging failures, The Decider "dodged accountability" and engaged in "demagogic oversimplification" of the immense challenge the U.S. faces in Iraq.

TWO - The name for the "surge" of 21,500 troops is "political gimmick," of "limited tactical significance and of no strategic benefit." U.S. forces will be thrust into bloody street fighting.

THREE - While escalating the U.S. involvement in Iraq, and imposing benchmarks on the Iraqi regime, The Decider's new direction in Iraq leaves only two options when the benchmarks aren't met.... "blame and run".... or, the moth-eaten "falling dominoes" scenario of the horrific consequences of U.S. withdrawal, The Decider's favorite bedtime story for his shell-shocked electorate.

FOUR - No mention of "even the possibility of developing a framework for an eventual politicial solution." This stonewall approach "fits well into the administration's diplomatic style of relying on sloganeering as a substitute for strategizing."

FIVE - Scariest of all, the "speech reflects a profound misunderstanding of our era." King George doesn't realize the "age of colonialism is over.... a fatal flaw."

The Decider's apologists and supporters say he listened to many people before deciding on his "surge" sugarcoated horse pill.

Yes, but he listened only to people who would meekly further his "vision," not to experienced and clear-eyed statesmen like Brzezinski.

The Decider's Iraq flaws are now our national destiny and his indelible legacy.