Amid the twittering of politicians, military reality?

McClatchy reports: Despite Iraq reports, troops' future is set by Nancy A. Youssef and Renee Schoof

No matter what Army Gen. David Petraeus tells Congress about the surge in Iraq on Monday, the course for U.S. troops there is already set: Next April, the 30,000 troops who were added this year will begin coming home.
...

U.S. military officials are assuming that the buildup of 30,000 additional American troops will continue until April, although a senior military official told McClatchy Newspapers that they may redeploy a brigade ...

By the end of March, however, Pentagon officials said, deployment schedules will force a reduction and the five brigades added for the surge will begin leaving, one month at a time.

Pentagon planners say they can't maintain the surge beyond that without extending deployments beyond the current 15 months, and the nation's top military leaders have said they can't do that with inflicting significant damage on the Army and the Marine Corps.

As if they care? No one in power has paid more than timid lip service to the realities of what the United States is doing to itself and others. Why start now? Geez ...

The article goes on to quote Reid as follows: ""We're not backing off anything," Reid said Thursday." Not backing off? They do nothing, but they are not backing off of doing nothing. How brave ...

Goodness, Pelosi started the new session of Congress with a plan ... now, after a well paid and lengthy vacation her amorphous organization returns to Washington with a well thought out "they might do this and they might do that" ...

In the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is considering putting up a measure for a vote that would require military planning for a withdrawal. The House also might take up a measure similar to the Webb amendment on longer rest time.

... or they might do nothing just like the Senate, more likely.

And then there's this statement from a Republican Congressman from NC, Walter Jones: "You cannot just sit back and just watch." They have gall, those Republicans.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said Congress had put off a real discussion of what was right for national security, waiting for the Petraeus and Crocker reports. Now, he said, debate must begin on a strategy that will be sustainable and that fits with other national security interests.

That's right, they waited months and months for 'a report' and 'a visit' from Petraeus and now they must strategize on what they will wait for next.

Good show.