Unfortunately that will mean more casualties in the coming months.

As George Carlin said "there's a war on drugs and a war on crime, but no war on homelessness, because there's no profit in it."

New details also emerged about clashes on Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, which left five Americans dead. Lt. Col. Scott R. Bleichwehl, an American military spokesman, said the gunmen who stormed the provincial governor's office during a meeting between American and local officials were wearing what appeared to be American military uniforms in an effort to impersonate United States soldiers.

The sophisticated attack hinted at what could be a new threat for American troops as they start a fresh security plan centered on small bases in Baghdad's bloodiest neighborhoods, where soldiers will live and work with Iraqi forces. Military officials have said that one of their greatest concerns is that troops will be vulnerable to attack from killers who appear to be colleagues.

It is not uncommon for gunmen to impersonate Iraqi security forces, but this seems to be the first time that attackers have tried to disguise themselves as Americans.

Link

Unvarnished NIEs sent to the White House by the Negroponte/Fingar team have not shied away from unwelcome conclusions undercutting administration claims, and have gone over like proverbial lead balloons. An estimate on Iran completed in early 2005, for example, concluded that the Iranians will not be able to produce a nuclear weapon before "early to mid-next decade," exposing Cheney's fanciful claims of more proximate danger. And an NIE produced in April '06 on global terrorism concluded that the invasion of Iraq led to a marked increase in terrorism, belying administration claims that the invasion and occupation had made us "safer.".....

.....The two unwelcome estimates meant two strikes on Negroponte. Then the White House learned of an impending strike-three - this one an NIE assessing the future in Iraq and apparently casting doubt on the advisability of U.S. escalation. In a classic Cheneyesque pre-emptive strike, the estimate was put on hold; Negroponte was given a pink slip and assigned back to the State Department. There are rumors that Fingar is clearing out his desk as well.

George W. Bush, 6/5/99:"I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."

No timetable for pullout from Iraq: Bush

Washington, Jan 22: US President George W Bush distanced himself from predictions US troops could begin leaving Iraq by late summer, stating bluntly there would be no timetable, in an interview published today.

"We don't set timetables in this administration because an enemy will adjust their tactics based upon perceived action by the United States," Bush told the USA today newspaper.

GOP leaders continue to break ranks from President Bush on Iraq. The latest is House Minority Leader John Boehner, who is getting ready to demand that President Bush report to Congress every 30 days on the progress that the Iraq government and the administration is making in the war,  CNN reports.

Mr. Bush's overall approval rating has fallen to just 28 percent, a new low, while more than twice as many (64 percent) disapprove of the way he's handling his job.