Who wants victory?

Alex at Martini Republic says Paul Bremer requested that troop levels in Iraq be increased by another 350,000, back in the spring of 2004(around the time of the 1st(failed) Fallujah offensive.)

Even though I could well see Bush walking away from the ruin he made of Iraq and declaring victory, I never believed the neocons ever wanted to create a peaceful post-invasion Iraq. From where I'm sitting, the fact that Rumsfeld and Bush know they don’t have enough troops and are also scaling back the troop levels we presently have just serves to demonstrate that they don’t give a damn about fostering the creation of a peaceful and democratic Iraq.

They got exactly what they wanted– they tore the country apart, and mean to destroy other countries in the region with subsequent invasions on the cheap.

Then they’ll shrug their shoulders and chalk up failure to the supposedly irreemable savagery of the Islamic world, and maybe the unwillingness of liberals to be sufficiently supportive to boot.

Taylor Marsh notes that

Bremer doesn't like being the scapegoat, but regardless of this face saving move on his part, he still has to answer for disbanding the entire Iraqi military, which included letting them take their armaments with them, as they disappreared into the city with nothing to do but plot and plan against the preemptors.

LA Times:"Bremer: Request for More Troops Was Ignored"