Military mask:

The military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, is to deliver a report to Congress on Monday that could be the most consequential testimony by a wartime commander. What the country desperately needs is an honest assessment of the war and a clear strategy for extricating American forces from the hopeless spiral of violence in Iraq.

President Bush, however, seems to be aiming for maximum political advantage. Bush isn’t looking for the truth, only for ways to confound the public. At times, General Petraeus gives the disturbing impression that he, too, is more focused on the political game in Washington. That serves neither American nor Iraqi interests. Withdrawing 4,000 troops and dangling the prospect of additional withdrawals is a token political gesture, not a new strategy. If it proves enough to cow Congress into halting its push for a more robust and concrete exit strategy, that would be political cowardice at its worst. Waving off the independent reports, Bush plans to stay the course and make his successor fix his Iraq fiasco. Military progress without political progress is meaningless, and Bush no plans for unifying Iraq now than when he started the war. The US needs a prudent exit strategy that will withdraw American forces and try to stop Iraq’s chaos from spreading.