As measured from a January 2007 baseline, do we assess that present trend data demonstrates a positive trajectory, which is tracking toward satisfactory accomplishment in the near term? If the answer is yes, we have provided a “Satisfactory” assessment; if the answer is no, the assessment is “Unsatisfactory.”

Even with that low standard, and it is very low, they could not show anything that would count as "satisfactory" progress.

For the cheerleaders of this doomed expedition, the only thing that can maintain the "surge" is a draft. I can't think of a single republican who would support this because it would be political suicide.

My guess is they want to loose as few as possible. Following that logic, then in September, or at the very latest by the end of 2007, Republicans behind closed doors, will make Bush an offer he can't refuse.

"Change your policies, or change your Party affiliation, because we will dump you and live you behind as road kill if you don't".

The war in Iraq as pursued for the last few years is essentially about to end. All the posturing in the world can't mask the reality that politically time ran out for Bush.

Can anyone honestly imagine having Bush in the Fall of 2008 giving still another press conference, and still saying "we need to stay the course" "it's haaaaarrdddd , very haaaarddd" or his favorite one "we are making progress" ? OR Does any one believe that by 2008 the Iraqi people will be living together in peace, and have a united Government???

If we are intellectually honest the answer has to be NO on both counts.

And that conclusion can then take us to the obvious realisation that Republicans are not interested in following Bush into retirement, and ridicule. The political clock, and the rush for the exits starts in September. Look for a Bigger, Better, and Improved "Republican Plan for Victory" coming to your TV screens this Fall... Bush by then will be on board, and Republicans will be united, and ready for a fight.... At least in paper. The plan will basically be to get out of Dodge, and re-deploy, while keeping some troops on the ground to make pretend, and at least have Bush keep his underwear on the deal.

Iraq will still be a mess. But Hey, with a hundred million budget for PR, and an Army of spinners that can turn Mother Teresa into Hitler at the drop of a hat, I am sure Bush will get a 2% jump at the polls out of his miraculous "conversion", while the Republican get to keep maybe a sit or two in Congress. Hey Republicans!! Count your blessings, with your unconditional support for Bush, at this point you are lucky the GOP Elephant has not turned into a clown.

So for now, let's get real. Bush is down to his last farce. His mess is no longermilitarly, or politically sustainable.
It's over, the "decider" decided himself into a mess, and he lost. He is finished. He no longer even has a National agenda. He is not a "lame" Duck.... He is a dead duck. His only task from here on out is to play defense in trying desperately to justify his debacle, and get a good face saving deal from Republican Party elders.... Like his Dad.

In fact, It's time for him to "decide" where to hide for the rest of his life......You see he is not the only one with a long memory, and a vindictive personality. I would take an educated guess and say he is not very popular in the Middle East, not to mention the world (except Albania). But Since the guy can't ever decide anything correctly, I am afraid that the U.S Government better start making arrangements to triple his protection detail as an Ex. There's a lot of pissed off bad character out there that will like to turn him into Swiss Cheese.

As for the VP .... He is already living in an undisclosed location in the Twilight Zone. You see,He was always the smart one of the pair.

George Bush back in 2005:Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war [on terror]. Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of...

Granted this may be happening because we've started arming the Sunni militias and therefore providing a measure of safety that we hadn't been able to provide before, but still...

Or am I just so starved for news that isn't dismal that I'm willing take anything?

The only people in Iraq who have done anything to secure their own future and safety are the Kurds. Good for them. They will continue to do well no matter.

I wouldn't give any guarantees, ken. The various Sunni-Shia factions will continue to snipe at each other for generations, but I figure if the Kurds reach some certain level of independence, the Turkish Army will roll over the border and slaughter every last man, woman, and child - I have a very bad feeling it'll make the Serbs' ethnic cleansing look like a minor spat.

The only question in my mind the last few months has been whether the least bad option is to continue to slog forward to give the Iraqi government a chance to get its act together or to pull out with the horrific consequences that would inevitably bring.

Baloney. You have no clue as what the consequences of our ceasing the war on Iraq would entail.

Horrific? Ha! How much more horrific can it be?

The only people in Iraq who have done anything to secure their own future and safety are the Kurds. Good for them. They will continue to do well no matter.

As to the rest of them. Let them figure it out for themselves. We can't do it for them. We should stop making war on Iraqis and just get the hell out of there. Killing Iraqis or standing between two Iraqis who want to kill each other is a fools game. Absolutely nothing good can come out of it.

As to the consequences of leaving? We can deal with them. We can always deal with the consequences of doing the right thing.

You people are always so quick to jump the gun and never think things through rationally.

Completely unlike, say, the people who invaded and took over a country without a clue as to how to run it afterward.

I breathlessly await you and everyone else telling us six months from now that we need another "Freidman" (Freidman=6 months) to assess whatever the hell new name for the strategy that they are implementing them. Apologists for this President have been asking for "Friedman's" for nearly 2 years now yet we haven't made a bit of progress towards whatever notion of victory you supporters have. The notion that we aren't rationale because most of us see a situation that is getting worse is the sort of name-calling that many would rather use instead of an actual argument for your position.

To be fair, the full complement of troops that made up the Surge are just now coming into place. When this was announced, President Bush warned that we would not see immediate results:

Bull. Despite historical revisions, the surge began in January, and Bush's touchy-feely criteria that Iraq kinda-sorta is progressing towards in some half-assed kinda way stands in stark contrast to the the imminent report showing that Iraq has met NONE of the benchmarks it was aiming for, even while fully 75% of the surge's full complement was functioning in-country. If you still think Bush has any grasp on reality left, explain how he can, this very day, state that the people who attacked us on 9-11 are the same people we're fighting in Iraq now. That's not merely a bald-faced lie, it's a clinical derangement.

ACCEPT THIS: Regardless of how you want to assess blame for getting us to this point, Iraq is irredeemably broken. A new, stable government will eventually form, but not until after the entire country crashes and burns. Hell, his own CIA chief said basically that much last November. Nothing the US does - NOTHING - can prevent this. Keeping our troop sthere accomplishes no worthwhile purpose anymore - all it does is push back the date of conflagration, and that's clearly all Bush is interested in - keeping the horrific tragedy to come at bay until someone else gets elected. Because of that - the idea of protecting his own page in the history books - Bush will NEVER agree to withdraw out troops. Never. To believe, or even hope, otherwise is to ignore every single shred of evidence of Bush's personality ever displayed.

James - this is about the most pessimistic a tone I've heard from you about the war thus far.

I've been pessimistic for quite a while. The few positive signs we've seen since the last election -- the last truly significant positive milestone -- have been tactical, not strategic. Further, I think John Robb's likely about right on the nature of the enemy we face.

The only question in my mind the last few months has been whether the least bad option is to continue to slog forward to give the Iraqi government a chance to get its act together or to pull out with the horrific consequences that would inevitably bring. There's less room than ever, I'm afraid, for hope.

At this point, it's about damage control more than victory. How best to achieve that, I'm afraid, I'm still trying to figure out.