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Waiting breathlessly for that September report, the one that's supposed to tell us how successful George W. Bush's brilliant surge strategy has been in achieving a number of benchmarks in Iraq? Encouraged because it's going to come from the generals who are actually in theater, telling us all how it really is?
Well, maybe not so much:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg- pullback15aug15,0,4840766.story?page=2&coll=la-home-center
Administration and military officials acknowledge that the September report will not show any significant progress on the political benchmarks laid out by Congress. How to deal in the report with the lack of national reconciliation between Iraq's warring sects has created some tension within the White House.
Despite Bush's repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government.
And though Petraeus and Crocker will present their recommendations on Capitol Hill, legislation passed by Congress leaves it to the president to decide how to interpret the report's data.
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Gee, ya think the White House will report incredible progress, or spectacular progress?
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