The Intelligence Is Still Being Fixed Around The Policy

Watch the military leaders upon which the entire future of the Iraq mission is predicated admit that "wait 'til September" is all a big con:

U.S. officials told ABC News that the troop levels in Iraq cannot be maintained at the present level, either politically or practically, with the military stretched so thin.

But that does not imply an immediate drawdown. Officials told ABC's Martha Raddatz that the senior commanders in Iraq -- Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno and Gen. David Petraeus -- want the surge to continue until at least December and expect to report enough progress by September to justify the extension.

The drawdown would begin in February 2008, although each of the two generals supports a slightly different plan.

Plan one, which officials say Odierno is pushing, would start with a draw down of one brigade (5,000 troops) every month starting in February, with a reduction in troops from roughly 150,000 today to 100,000 by December 2008.

Petraeus champions a slightly different approach that would cut the troops down to roughly 130,000 by the end of 2008, with further reductions the following year.

They're going to cook up as much evidence as they can ("Those schools are more freshly painted than EVER!!") to make sure they can keep the Iraqi adventure going. It'll be thin gruel to anyone paying attention, but just enough so the supposed "concerned Republicans" can be mollified, and head back to their districts saying "It's almost done, just give us a few more months!"

This war is more and more feeling like "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks. The contractors keep saying "two weeks" to finish the house.

And look at this new tactic:

The U.S. military is working more aggressively to forge cease-fires with Iraqi militants and quell the violence around Baghdad, judging that 80 percent of enemy combatants are "reconcilable," a top U.S. commander said Thursday.

However, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno also warned that he may not be able to make a full assessment of the situation in Iraq by September, as demanded by lawmakers.

Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, told Pentagon reporters by video conference that he is pressing his military officers to reach out to the tribes, to some small insurgent groups and to religious and political leaders to push them to stop the violence.

"We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces," Odierno said from Camp Victory in Baghdad. "We believe a large majority of groups within Iraq are reconcilable and are now interested in engaging with us. But more importantly, they want to engage and become a part of the government of Iraq."

The only cease-fires will come when the occupiers leave. Face facts. Sadr's already doing this without US help. Yes, Odierno has finally admitted that Sadr's grassroots movement is real, and yes, Sunni Arabs in Baghdad sought US help in Baghdad against Al Qaeda in Iraq, but the biggest enemy in the country remains the US military. There may be a mechanism for Sunnis and Shiites to work together, if they're weary enough of fighting each other, to toss out Al Qaeda, who is hated. But that doesn't involve the US at all. In fact, it will only have a chance of succeeding if we leave.