"Satisfactory Progress" and "Boy, have I got a bridge for you!" Dept.

This was sort of buried in an article in the LATimes about General Petraeus' upcoming magic report:

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.

Did we expect anything else? Just another dog & pony show, with dead dogs & ponies at that, to get yet another Friedman Unit in Iraq.

I might have more respect for Gen. Petraeus, maybe even Bush (shudder!), if one of 'em'd just come out and say, "We can't leave now. The Iraqis haven't given us the oil yet. We may have to go to Plan B and just steal it. That'll start with the re-institution of the draft because we don't have enough military left to do it. We are prepared to make any sacrifice on your part for massive profit on our part."

Having said that, my respect for Gen. Petraeus is going the way of my respect for Colin Powell for allowing himself to be used as a political tool by war criminals.