I would comment on it, except that it’s a meaningless puff of piffle. All public relations, no policy. All propaganda, no reality. It’s quite remarkable in that way, but otherwise unnoteworthy.

Think Progress did some heavy lifting anyway. For your enjoyment:

After two-and-a-half years and 2,110 U.S. troop fatalities, the Bush administration released what it calls a “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq” (NSVI). The problem is, it’s not a new strategy for success in Iraq; it’s a public relations document. The strategy describes what has transpired in Iraq to date as a resounding success and stubbornly refuses to establish any standards for accountability. It dismisses serious problems such as the dramatic increase in bombings as “metrics that the terrorists and insurgents want the world to use.” Americans understand it’s time for a new course in Iraq. Unfortunately, this document is little more than an extended justification for a President “determined to stay his course.”
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NO STANDARDS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
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IGNORING KEY CHALLENGES
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DISMISSING INCREASED VIOLENCE
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REPLACING METRICS WITH EMPTY PHRASES
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THE NATIONAL PAT ON THE BACK: The NSIV is less of a strategy and more of a pat on the back. Much of the 35 pages is devoted to describing how well things are going. Oddly, the strategy declares on Page 5 that “Our Strategy Is Working.” On the economic front we are told, “Our restore, reform, build, strategy is achieving results.” On the political front: “Our Isolate, Engage, and Build strategy is working.” On the security front: “Our clear, hold, and build strategy is working.” With everything going so well, the NSVI reminds us that “change is coming to the region… From Kuwait to Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt, there are stirrings of political pluralism, often for the first time in generations.”

That last part (the pat on the back) is the key purpose of this merkin of a document.

Billmon has the shorter NSVI:

* Use lots of bullet points

* Failure is not an option

* If it moves, bomb it

* Death squads

* Phased withdrawal

* Use more bullet points.

* Exploit the dead

* And don’t forget to emote

Reading from a letter written by a U.S. soldier on his lap-top computer before his death, an emotional Bush said America owes those who have died in Iraq to “take up their mantle, carry on the fight and complete their mission.”

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