Bush administration officials are urging the Democratic-controlled Congress to take the general’s testimony on Monday and that of Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Iraq, at “face value”. -FTimesThe short answer to this "urging", if it is occuring, is "no, No, NO!".
For pity's sake, the whole point of having set benchmarks was to have a very specific discussion of percentage completion, etc.
More Rumsfeldian "trust me" statements, more Bushian "We will prevail", and more Dick "Baghdad Bob" Cheney routine just reinforces the proposition that funding for the war should end el instante, not because of facts on the ground, but because of the people running the effort.
Here's more reason for the same: an hour "exclusive" with Brit Hume, 45 minutes to be about Anbar, no doubt. Let's see if Brit can name five Baghdad neighborhoods and ask about who is "holding" them ...
