Six months

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Guardian Unlimited: "An elite team of officers advising US commander General David Petraeus in Baghdad has concluded the US has six months to win the war in Iraq -- or face a Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat."

Suffice it to say, however, there are certain "entrenched problems" that seem to stand in the way of victory.

Which begs a couple of questions:

-- How is victory now defined?
-- Is the war even winnable at all?

If the answer to the second question is "No" -- and it would seem to be -- then what's the point? Even an improvement in the security situation in Baghdad -- is that now "victory"? -- would likely just be temporary, what Andrew Sullivan has called a "phony peace".

Six months? Victory? Doubtful.