But of course……they can have all the time in the world. We’ll just send our wounded back, we’ll extend tours, we’ll send guys back time after time after time…..no problemo.

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration is allowing the Iraqi government more time to achieve political goals that were described as key benchmarks of the new American strategy in Iraq, in an acknowledgment that movement toward reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites remains a long way off.

A “notional political timeline” that the administration provided to Congress in January called for the four most significant objectives to be met by this month, but in interviews this week, administration officials said it could be the end of the year at the earliest before all of them are fulfilled.

The slower pace of progress puts the administration in a difficult position, given the growing congressional criticism of the new strategy, which includes an increase of more than 20,000 American troops. Congressional Democrats are seeking passage of legislation that would impose a timetable for withdrawal of American troops, and for evidence that political benchmarks are being met.

A House bill under consideration this week lists benchmarks for Iraqi political progress, and would require that President George W. Bush certify by July 1 that progress was being made toward them. The bill would basically give Bush and the Iraqi government an Oct. 1 deadline to meet the benchmarks.

Administration officials have never rescinded their earlier timeline, and indeed the Iraqi government had already missed most of the deadlines when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave Congress the notional timeline, which extended from September 2006 to March 2007.

Read more at the International Herald Tribune