It seems the Bush administration is finally waking up to a situation that is already a nightmare for most Americans. But their most recent solution to the problem doesn’t seem to be sitting well with American public.What was once just a step in the wrong direction for the United States has left us stranded in the wrong direction, and rather than turning around and going back, the recent troop surge is simply digging America in deeper.

Iraq has developed into a lose-lose situation for America, and instead of curtailing the inevitable loss of more American lives by following the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, the Bush administration has decided that we’re in it for the long haul.

The group’s report seems to have gone unheeded by senior administrators, even though it offered what is the most plausible pathway to an Iraq that may, someday, no longer be a burden for Americans.

This need to minimize the conflict’s adverse effects on Americans must also be balanced with a responsibility to help Iraqis recoup from the damage done by America’s invasion.

This year alone, 34,000 Iraqis were killed, according to the United Nations. The Iraqi infrastructure is devastated, and the country is in ruin and deteriorating rapidly.

The United States has overstayed its welcome in Iraq, and the country is broken as a result. It appears the Bush administration is now following the adage of “You break it, you buy it.”

That’s exactly what they’re doing, too. We’ve broken it, and now we’re trying to buy it – this time, with another 21,500 American troops.

Eventually, our nation’s leaders will just have to accept that Iraq may be broken beyond repair.

News editor Andrew Chavez for the editorial board.