From the same Administration that brought you this gem in 2005:
"I think we may well have some kind of presence there over a period of time," Cheney said. "The level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline. I think they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency."
They now bring you: "Al-Qaida close to defeat in Iraq"
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq [Ryan Crocker] said Saturday that al-Qaida's network in the country has never been closer to defeat, and he praised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his moves to rein in Shiite and Sunni militant groups.
Critics claim that the Bush Administration never seems to learn from its mistakes. Au Contraire! They have learned to say: "Mission [really close to being] Accomplished!
"You are not going to hear me say that al-Qaida is defeated, but they've never been closer to defeat than they are now," Crocker said.
The surge is working! We're really, REALLY close to winning.
Near Baqouba — where a U.S. offensive last year targeted al-Qaida in Iraq — gunmen assassinated a member of the local Awakening Council, a U.S.-backed group of Sunni tribesmen who are fighting al-Qaida.
Confident in Al-Qaida's demise, the Iraqi police remain boldly anonymous in discussing their imminent victory:
Al-Qaida fighters or other Sunni insurgents struck back in Mosul on Saturday. A roadside bomb in the city's Sumer neighborhood hit an Iraqi army patrol, destroying a vehicle and killing four soldiers, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
In Baghdad, three men attending a conference at the offices of the National Dialogue Front, a leading Sunni Arab political party, were killed when a bomb exploded under their car as they left the gathering, police said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Ok, can they put a number on how close we are to victory?
The U.S. military says attacks have dropped dramatically — down to an average of 41 a day across the country.
Only 41 attacks a day!
The Bush Administration has often been criticized for its failure to define "victory" in Iraq. Now they have finally come forward with a definitive and quantifiable metric for success. To the Bush Administration, 41 attacks/day is close to victory.
Well over one thousand attacks each month is considered "Mission Nearly Accomplished."
Is anybody really surprised by this?