In a story that reports that the Bush Administration is deliberating whether to abandon reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents, the Washington Post's Robin Wright reports that U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that their reconciliation efforts may even have "backfired," alienating the Shiite majority and leaving the United States vulnerable to having no allies in Iraq. LINK
In a news analysis, David Sanger of the New York Times describes the current moment as possibly President Bush's last to alter his Iraq strategy and redefine the terms of victory as nearly everyone in Washington seems to no longer be debating if troops should start coming out of Iraq, but instead simply debating when and how rapidly. LINK
The San Francisco Chronicle's Marc Sandlow sees President Bush's comments while traveling in the Middle East as yet another example "that the world of public Bush-speak — from his vigorous support for al-Maliki and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to his rejection of direct diplomacy with Syria and Iran — bears little relation to what goes on behind the scenes." LINK