The New York Times quotes a senior administration official on General McChrystal’s troop request and how the numbers are being viewed inside the administration:
The senior administration official went on to explain that the president is considering alternatives to the “we’re in this to win” option. Among them: The “we’re in this to muddle through ineffectively until political support at home is exhausted and we are forced to retreat” option. The “we’re in this to demonstrate that we learned nothing from the surge” option. The “we’re in this to reassure Donald Rumsfeld that Democrats are equally capable of screwing up along the lines he did in Iraq” option. The “we’re in this because we needed to look tough during last year’s presidential campaign and had no clue what we were getting ourselves into, and now are frantically trying to extricate ourselves without getting called on it” option.
