An analysis of the (quite possibly subsidized) pure party line as touted by the True Believers and the reality as perceived by those responsible and living it.

Mixed signals

"The disconnect between Rose Garden optimism and Baghdad pessimism, according to government officials and independent analysts, stems not only from Bush's focus on tentative signs of long-term progress but also from the shrinking range of policy options available to him if he is wrong. Having set out on a course of trying to stand up a new constitutional, elected government with the security firepower to defend itself, Bush finds himself locked into a strategy that, even if it proves successful, forecasts many more deadly months to come first, analysts said.

"Military commanders in Iraq privately told a visiting congressional delegation last week that the United States is at least two years away from adequately training a viable Iraqi military but that it is no longer reasonable to consider boosting U.S. troops already strained by the two-year operation, said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.)."

Ya have to ask - is this worth $300 billion and a hundred thousand lives?

Arf