Falling for the Spin

"Mr. Bremer provided the letters to the New York Times on Monday after reading that Mr. Bush was quoted in a new book as saying that American policy had been 'to keep the army intact' but that it 'didn't happen.'

"The dismantling of the Iraqi Army in the aftermath of the American invasion is now widely regarded as a mistake that stoked rebellion among hundreds of thousands of former Iraqi soldiers and made it more difficult to reduce sectarian bloodshed and attacks by insurgents. In releasing the letters, Mr. Bremer said he wanted to refute the suggestion in Mr. Bush's comment that Mr. Bremer had acted to disband the army without the knowledge and concurrence of the White House."

The LAT isn't quite as high on the surge as Bush:

"Military and government officials highlight progress on the local, neighborhood and even street level. Much of it hinges on the future of deals struck with former insurgents who until recently were aiming their guns at U.S. forces. 'There are . . . if you will, mini-benchmarks where things are happening,' U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said Aug. 21."

Mini-benchmarks?

Captain Ed pleads for patience:

"Kimberly Kagan makes a powerful case for a substantial change in fortunes in Iraq, and not just in the west. In the Wall Street Journal, Kagan argues that the metrics and the momentum have shifted to the American and Iraqi security forces throughout the country as commanders ended the whack-a-mole campaign for good with the surge . . .

"It will take longer than ten weeks to definitively declare the tide has turned. We should take care to acknowledge this, as I'm certain General [David H.] Petraeus will underscore in his report. If the enemy adapts successfully to this latest strategy, declarations like this will give defeatists even more ammunition to declare the entire effort a waste of time. We should be clear about the success, but give Petraeus time and room to make necessary adjustments and not get too ahead of ourselves in building our own narrative."

Why wait for Petraeus and the debate that follows? Atrios has divined the game plan in advance:

"Here's the basic outline of The Deal:

"1) Democrats, to court Republicans, agree to declare a bit of victory ('situation improving . . . ')

"2) They compromise on a bill which suggests very strongly that maybe, just maybe, if security conditions 'continue to improve' that Bush should consider, if he wants, bringing some troops home. But, you know, nothing that constrains his authority as Supreme Leader to do whatever the hell he wants.