Petraeus says Iraq Political Gains Lacking

If no political gains have been made then the surge has failed, that simple:

The Bush administration boosted troop levels -- now at 168,000 --- as part of a strategy to improve security and allow Iraqi politicians time to advance legislation seen by Washington as critical to long-term stability.

"The lack of political progress in Iraq is disturbing and I fear that all of our military efforts will be for naught if the Iraqis fail to achieve the political settlements needed to secure a bright future for that country," said Democrat Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee.

[...]"One of the justifications for the surge, after all, was that it would help create the space for Iraqi leaders to tackle the tough questions and agree on key pieces of 'national reconciliation' legislation. It has not worked out as we had hoped."

All the administration can do is attempt to perpetrate a fraud. Bush wants to run out the clock before the whole thing comes crashing down. The surge (i.e., escalation) cannot be sustained indefinitely since troop strength is already already at the breaking point. Those troops in Iraq are serving for longer periods and for multiple tours of duty. If another conflict should break out (e.g.,Iran or Pakistan) we have no means of fighting further wars. In fact, due to our preocupation with Iraq we are starting to lose ground to the resurgent Taleban, with their activities funded by bumper poppy(opium) crops.

As for the terrorist threat it continues to grow thanks to a war that is supposed to destroy al Qaeda. Tonight on Larry King, the panelists of terrorism experts all agreed that the war in Iraq has been a blessing for al Qaeda. New generations of terrorists are following the Bin Laden example. The cancer is spreading. No one dispute that fact:

Fritz and Daniel — two of the three militant Islamic suspects arrested in a purported plot to bomb American targets are as German as their names.

The pair allegedly are among the small number of Western converts who have been used by terrorism masters because their ability to blend in is matched by their willingness to become violent, Muslim and non-Muslim experts say.

There is no greater proof of the health of the al Qaeda movement than the fact that Bin Laden is still alive and well:

Osama bin Laden said in a new video marking the sixth anniversary of al Qaeda's September 11 attacks that the United States was vulnerable despite its military and economic power, but he made no specific threats.