Surge-ical

I'm losing count of the Friedman Units.

Admiral Fallon’s comments struck a somewhat different tone from the one voiced privately by Bush administration officials who have said they advocate holding to troop levels before the “surge” for some months, perhaps even until the end of the administration. Some ground commanders in Iraq also support a delayed timetable for further reductions, to maintain security advances earned by the troop increase.

Admiral Fallon said he advocated a strategy that would “transfer more and more responsibility for security in Iraq to Iraqi security forces and, at the same time, withdrawing a substantial amount of our combat forces.” American military personnel remaining in Iraq, he said, would mostly be in the “supporting, sustaining, advising, training and mentoring role.”

The admiral did not offer a specific timetable for reducing troop levels in Iraq, which is expected to be a central part of the recommendations presented to President Bush over coming weeks by Admiral Fallon, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior commander in Iraq, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Senior military officers already say it is quite possible that no specific timetable for troop withdrawals beyond July will emerge from the commanders’ sessions with the president this spring, and that instead a series of monthly reviews will be put in place for assessing, and ordering, troop levels beyond the summer.

But The Surge is working! We're making political progress, see?

BAGHDAD — Political momentum in Iraq hit a sudden roadblock on Wednesday when a feud between the largest Shiite factions led to the veto of a law that had been passed with great fanfare two weeks ago. The law had been heralded by the Bush administration as a breakthrough for national reconciliation.

The law called for provincial elections by October, and it was hoped that it would eliminate severe electoral distortions that have left Kurds and Shiites with vastly disproportionate power over Sunni Arabs in some areas, a factor in fueling the Sunni insurgency. It would also have given Iraqis who have long complained of corrupt and feckless local leaders a chance to clean house and elect officials they believe are more accountable.

But the law was vetoed at the last minute by the three-member Iraqi presidency council, which includes President Jalal Talabani and two vice presidents. The veto came after officials in a powerful Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, objected to provisions that they contend unlawfully strip power from Iraq’s provinces.

Politicians involved in the debate said the main objections came from Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi, a Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council member. The bill now goes back to Parliament, where its prospects are unclear, given the acrimonious debate over the issue that led to the veto.

Even if the law is approved, Parliament must fill vacant election commission seats and approve an elections law before provincial contests can occur.

The veto is “somewhat of a setback,” Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, acknowledged Wednesday during a hearing in Congress.

Every time someone raises an ink-stained digit in Iraq, we're told it's a sign we've turned the corner.