from the archives (ii)

May 1, 2003—Emperor George II prances about the USS Abraham Lincoln declaring MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Jan. 2004—The people of Iraq are free. Kaiser George II, State of the Union

March 27, 2005: “assuming the political process continues to go positively . . . and the Iraqi army continues to progress . . . we should be able to take some fairly substantial [troop] reductions.—Gen. George Casey, top Iraq commander [USAToday, A1, 10-25-06]

July 27, 2005: A possibility of “fairly substantial [troop] reductions after these elections in the spring and summer.”—Gen. George Casey, top Iraq commander [: USAToday, A1, 10-25-06]

Jan. 2006—As we make progress and Iraqi forces increasingly take the load, we should be able to

further decrease troop levels. Kaiser George II, State of the Union

June 14, 2006—“I’ve just returned from Baghdad, and I was inspired to be able to visit the capital of a free and democratic Iraq . . . Operation Together Forward started this morning. This operation is a joint effort to restore security and rule of law to high-risk areas in the capital city.”—Emperor George II

Aug. 30, 2006: Iraqi forces may be able to take over security in “12 to 18 months”—Gen. George Casey, top Iraq commander [: USAToday, A1, 10-25-06]

Oct. 19, 2006.—“Campaigning in Montana, Sen. Burns said he believes the president has a plan to win in Iraq but is keeping it quiet.” --WSJ, 10-19-06, p A1

--Top US military spokesman in Iraq Maj. Gen. Wm. B. Caldwell acknowledges that Operation Together Forward “had failed to reduce violence in the Iraqi capital and called the results ‘disheartening.’”

Sept. 9, 2007—Iraq’s armed forces and police are at least 12 to 18 months away from taking charge of security, said a commission created by Congress. NYT,+WK 2