Losing, losing, lost

By Michael J.W. Stickings

He was wrong to side with Bush and the warmongers and his case for war at the U.N. continues to live in infamy, but give Colin Powell credit for saying the right things now, finally:

Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that the United States is losing what he described as a "civil war" in Iraq and that he is not persuaded that an increase in U.S. troops there would reverse the situation. Instead, he called for a new strategy that would relinquish responsibility for Iraqi security to the government in Baghdad sooner rather than later, with a U.S. drawdown to begin by the middle of next year.

Not that Bush will listen to him or anything. But still.

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Meanwhile, the Pentagon is acknowledging that the situation in Iraq is getting worse for the U.S.:

The Pentagon said yesterday that violence in Iraq soared this fall to its highest level on record and acknowledged that anti-U.S. fighters have achieved a "strategic success" by unleashing a spiral of sectarian killings by Sunni and Shiite death squads that threatens Iraq's political institutions.

In its most pessimistic report yet on progress in Iraq, the Pentagon described a nation listing toward civil war, with violence at record highs of 959 attacks per week, declining public confidence in government and "little progress" toward political reconciliation...

The rapid spread of violence this year has thrown the government's future into jeopardy, Pentagon officials said.

Not that Bush will pay much attention to this or anything. But still.