Pause and consider

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus went before the Senate Armed Services Committee today and told them that when military forces in Iraq drop to pre-surge levels in July, that he'll need a 45 day pause in the withdrawal. Describing progress as "significant but uneven" Petraeus outlined the ongoing challenges in Iraq. U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker went about the business of stating the blindingly obvious, that we'll still be in Iraq into next year. Petraeus pointed a finger at Syria and Iran for supporting insurgents and special groups even as he had to joust with presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton. On Thursday, President Bush is expected to make a speech about the war. With this being the end of his presidency and after Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr cancelled his million man march on Baghdad neither Petraeus nor America should expect much from the commander-in-chief.