Pushback

I was thinking dark thoughts for awhile, especially after Michael Yon's claim we were losing not only Iraq but Afghanistan. But things are looking up in my little world. Afghanistan's getting the attention it deserves, with NATO stepping up, and Austin Bay suggests things aren't so bleak there anyway.

After a month of ominous loser talk, the realists don't seem to be carrying the day. As witness this blunt statement from the Joint Chiefs:

All six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, amid an ongoing Pentagon review of strategy for Iraq, oppose pulling out U.S. troops now, and are also against a specific withdrawal timetable, a defense source said yesterday.
"The chiefs are solid. They want victory," the source said. "There is no dissent."

Read Bush's speech in Latvia; doesn't sound like he's gone Baker on us to me --and there was tough talk from him in Jordan this morning, though I haven't found a transcript yet. So, at least we're not going to abandon 75 million people to the devices of the Islamists...yet.

UPDATE: Michael Ledeen thinks the Hadley memo is to laugh. He makes the important point about Maliki: If he thought we were going to win the Middle East war, he’d be our best friend in the region.

UPDATE II: Ah, here we are:

I know there's a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq," the president said during a joint news conference with Mr. Maliki, referring to the panel's reports that are expected next week. "We're going to stay in Iraq to get the job done so long as thegovernment wants us there."