A thumpin' for the Iraqi army

In the Chigago Tribune story, Basra battle raises questions about U.S. strategy in Iraq, Brian Katulis, a national security expert and senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress,
assessed it in words; he said the president might use: "This was a thumpin' for the Iraqi army and this was a thumpin' from a political perspective for the Iraqis."

A thumpin' indeed. Funny stuff; funny president.

The article begins:

Last week's inconclusive battle for Basra is raising new questions about the viability of U.S. military strategy in Iraq as Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker head to Capitol Hill next week to give their assessment of the U.S. troop surge.

President Bush billed the struggle between Shiite militiamen and the Iraqi army as a "defining moment" for Iraq. But the fighting left hundreds dead from Basra to Baghdad without causing any serious damage to the Mahdi Army militia, demonstrating how ineffectual the Iraqi army is five years into the war and underscoring that Iraqi politics is more complicated than ever, military experts said.

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I guess that 100-year war that John McCain predicted might be a reality. Apparently McCain knows his wars and the failing ones best. Great judgement, McCain, in authorizing it in the first place.