Bush has long claimed that the number of troops in Iraq was a military decision and that he simply followed the advice of his generals, but now this is clearly not the case. Ironically, there may once have been a point at which a large increase in troops might have made a difference.
布什长期以来一直宣称在伊拉克的士兵人数是一项军事决定，而他只不过是听从了他的将军们的建议，但是，现在这明显不是如此。具有讽刺意味的是，过去有一段时间如果大幅增兵局面可能就会大不相同。2003年4月和5月，民意调查表明大多数伊拉克人欢迎推翻萨达姆。但是布什当局却未能控制骚乱，解散了伊拉克军队并且听任安全局势恶化。