It is not a last chance afterall

LA Times:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates acknowledged Tuesday that Pentagon planners were considering alternative war plans in case the current buildup of forces in Iraq failed to quell ongoing violence in Baghdad, saying the administration strategy "is not the last chance" to salvage the war-torn country.

Although he insisted the administration would give the new offensive the time and funding it needed, Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee that if the strategy did not show the hoped-for results, the military would probably shift its efforts to a strategy centered on moving U.S. troops "out of harm's way."

"I think that if this operation were not to succeed — and we clearly are hoping it will succeed, planning for it to succeed, allocating the resources for it to succeed — but I would tell you that I think I would be irresponsible if I weren't thinking about what the alternatives might be if that didn't happen," Gates testified.

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One of the ironies is that for the surge to succeed it is important that the enemy be aware that the war will not end if it doesn't. If the enemy believes that this is the last shot, then he will be tempted to avoid contact and wait. If he believes that things could get worse he is more likely to either engage in a futile fight or give up.