FACT CHECK. Our own Terence Samuel examines the implications for Republicans of Bush's embrace of the Petraeus report, and gets at the point I made last night: "The Iraq war, judged by the number of American troops engaged at the front, will look next spring the same as it did last spring -- more than 130,000 American troops on the ground trying to advance the noble mission of creating 'breathing room' for Iraqis to construct some kind of human infrastructure that will allow them to live together in peace."
Over on the Washington Post, there's some additional fact checking: some of the signs that Bush hailed as progress last night had been previously – by Bush himself – noted as problem areas, such as solidifying a deal on sharing oil revenue and reformation of laws. He also thanked the 36 countries with troops on the ground, when there are only 25, and unduly hyped the capabilities of the Iraqi army as they stand today.
--Kate Sheppard
