The Rubber-stamp Republicans may have delayed a carefully timed 'Victory in Iraq' production they had in the works, probably for this year's election season:
San Fran Chron--Tucked away in fine print in the military spending bill for this past year was a lump sum of $20 million to pay for a celebration in the nation's capital "for commemoration of success" in Iraq and Afghanistan. The original legislation empowered the president to designate "a day of celebration" to commemorate the success of the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq ... The celebration would honor the soldiers, sailors, air crews and Marines who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it would be held in Washington.
Get that? Bush and the GOP were apparently planning to perform Mission Accomplished Part Faux: Bigger and Better, in the nation's capital, even while the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan were going downhill. Meanwhile, in Iraq this week:
BostonGlobe--The US military announced the deaths of nine soldiers and two Marines yesterday in what has been a deadly period for American forces in Iraq. The announcement brought to at least 15 the number of service members killed in fighting since Saturday and coincided with a violent day across Iraq that left at least 51 Iraqis dead.