Time to raise taxes...

But only on the wealthy.

The Washington Post reported that about $2.6 billion additional will be needed to treat returning veterans from Iraq. LINK.

Bush stated a rationale for not raising troop levels in Iraq. The idea is that more troops would create more problems than they would solve. OK. Well, if you don't want to raise troop levels, then let's raise equipment levels. I see photos of Iraqi units without armoured equipment. Let's fire up some industrial muscle with some government contracts. Or, more to the point, let's see the Democrats propose that in the Congresss.

This is, by the way, the exact point that Dan Balz made in his analysis of Bush's speech in the Washington Post. LINK.

Here's Balz's conclusion:

"The fact that the public continues to support keeping troops in Iraq has made Democratic efforts to criticize Bush more difficult, as few Democratic leaders are calling for an explicit exit strategy. But it is congressional Republicans who may be most worried now about the course of events in Iraq. They, not Bush, must face the voters next year and they will become leading indicators of how effective the president has been in persuading Americans to stay the course."