The Shifting Sands

It seems that BushCo. has decided that Iraq being the central front in the War on Terror is not working out so good. So, as they often have, they are working to lower expectations so that almost regardless of the outcome, they can tout it as a success. Witness this bit from this morning's Wall Street Journal (subscription):

President Bush is moving to control the Iraq debate with a weeklong effort that signals U.S. resolve to see through that country's chaotic experiment in democracy while tapping the power of incumbency for his re-election campaign.

Two things of note; 'experiment' connotes that the Iraqis are conducting this on their own. Seems to me that it's more our experiment in preemptive war. Also, 'chaotic experiment' makes it seem as though perhaps the Iraqis just aren't cleaning up after themselves in the lab.

Somehow chaotic experiment doesn't capture the horror and bloodshed of over a thousand dead American soldiers, thousands of injured soldiers, tens of thousands of dead Iraqis and a country that is slipping closer and closer to civil war. It's an experiment, alright. One that's in the process of blowing up in Bush's face.

But the effort continues of lowering expectations. One gets the feeling that by the time November 2 rolls around, if Iraq hasn't torn itself to pieces in civil war, Bush will consider it a "key victory in the War on Terror."