Its not a Timetable, Its a Benchmark

One of Bush's "advisors," Dan Bartlett, appeared on the Today Show this morning to split hairs. He argued that his boss was not imposing a timetable but was trying to set up benchmarks or milestones to "incentivise" the Iraqi government to take "more responsibility." The reason you want to establish "benchmarks" is to get the Iraqis to effectively fight their own battles so that we can get the hell out. That's a timetable.

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Why do we need to get out of Iraq soon? We a propping up a corrupt government there. 60 Minutes last night showed why its a hopeless cause. What happened to $800 million intended for the defense of Iraq? In a nutshell -- it was stolen. The judge investigating the case has to have 30 body guards. Both the insurgents and corrupt politicians want to kill him. Our soldiers are fighting and dying to prop up a government that is made up of crooks.

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The British might be taking the lead in establishing a timetable...I mean benchmark...I mean milestone:

Citing senior American officials, the Times reported that while details of the blueprint are still being drawn up, a plan is to be presented to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki before the end of the year. The officials reportedly told the Times that for the first time, Iraq was likely to be asked to agree to a schedule of specific milestones, such as disarming sectarian militias, and to a broad set of other political, economic and military benchmarks intended to stabilize the country.