Another Bleak Milestone

"The real answer is that if most Americans were asked to sacrifice in serious ways, their support for the war -- already weak -- would likely erode even more. Only by asking very little has the administration been able to sustain a war that was supposed to be over in weeks or months."

In a CBS News commentary, Bob Schieffer notes: "With an all-volunteer military made up of only one-half-of-one-percent of us making the sacrifices in this war, it's easy for the rest of us to forget war still goes on."

Richard Perez-Pena writes in the New York Times: "Five years later, the United States remains at war in Iraq, but there are days when it would be hard to tell from a quick look at television news, newspapers and the Internet."

Fallujah Watch

Sudarsan Raghavan writes in The Washington Post: "The U.S. military showcases Fallujah as a model city where U.S. policies are finally paying off and is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the region to promote the rule of law and a variety of nation-building efforts.

"But the security that has been achieved here is fragile, the result of harsh tactics recalling the rule of Saddam Hussein, who was overthrown five years ago. Even as they work alongside U.S. forces, [Fallujah police officers] admit they have beaten and tortured suspects to force confessions and exact revenge.

"In the city's overcrowded, Iraqi-run jail, located inside a compound that also houses a U.S. military base and U.S. police advisers, detainees were beaten with iron rods, according to the current warden. Many were held for months with no clear evidence or due process. They were deprived of food, medical care and electricity and lived in utter squalor, said detainees, Iraqi police and U.S. military officers, who began to address the problems three weeks ago. Last summer, the warden said, several detainees died of heatstroke."

Fallujah police chief Faisal Ismail al-Zobaie tells Raghavan: "I have realized that Americans love the strong guy."

What's Next?

More of the same, apparently.

Steven Lee Myers writes in the New York Times: "Senior military commanders have presented the Bush administration with proposals to put off any plans for further reductions of troops in Iraq at least until the end of summer. . . .

"Last September, facing intense pressure from Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress, Mr. Bush announced that he would withdraw five combat brigades and two Marine battalions by July. Those reductions, not yet complete, would effectively return the number of troops in Iraq to roughly 140,000, a level slightly higher than before Mr. Bush ordered the buildup that became known as the 'surge.'"

Democratic Response

From the Democratic radio address on Saturday, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez: "In 2003, President Bush took us to war on the wings of a lie.

"With each passing year, we've heard the same false promises of victory, the same excuses for failures from the Iraqi government, and the same refusal from President Bush to admit his mistakes. . . .