Victory in Iraq

A staple of Senator McCain's campaign rhetoric is that he wants to achieve "victory" in Iraq.

Yesterday we learn that a forthcoming National Intelligence Estimate might pour some cold water on that prospect:

A nearly completed high-level U.S. intelligence analysis warns that unresolved ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq could unleash a new wave of violence, potentially reversing the major security and political gains achieved over the last year.

You have to wonder just how successful the troop surge really was if all 16 major U.S. intelligence agencies believe the situation is still so precarious. It also underscores how counter-productive it is to use terms like "victory" and "defeat" in Iraq. The situation - as General Petraeus himself acknowledged - does not lend itself to those kinds of stark descriptions.