Another Friedman -- or two or three or four ...

Back in January, the Administration was saying we'd know whether the "surge" was working by mid-April. Well, mid-April has come and gone. Petraeus came back to Washington to report to Bush that the surge is not working. So, of course, the administration is now saying it needs another Friedman. From today's NY Times:

WASHINGTON, April 27 — The Bush administration will not try to assess whether the troop increase in Iraq is producing signs of political progress or greater security until September, and many of Mr. Bush’s top advisers now anticipate that any gains by then will be limited, according to senior administration officials.

In interviews over the past week, the officials made clear that the White House is gradually scaling back its expectations for the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The timelines they are now discussing suggest that the White House may maintain the increased numbers of American troops in Iraq well into next year.

Any idiot can see that this war is going to last forever if Bush stays around. It's utterly outrageous.