http://www.nypost.com/seven/02092007...mir_taheri.htm

Petraeus begins his mission with three advantages over his predecessors.

The first is ....

Nevertheless, Petraeus still faces a number of major problems - the most important one being uncertainty in Washington.

There is little doubt that many elements within America's political elite want the United States to fail, for a variety of motives. At least some of those elements would do all they can, short of being charged with unpatriotic behavior, to ensure that the outcome of the war in Iraq is seen as a defeat for the United States - even if it is not so in reality.

Portraying Iraq as a failure isn't hard. To pronounce Petraeus' mission a failure, all that defeat-mongers in Washington need is one car bomb a day and one suicide attack a week.

Uncertainty in Washington will encourage the Iraqi protagonists to hedge their bets, rather than throw all their weight behind Petraeus' mission. In any war, people rally to the side that is perceived to have the highest threshold of pain, and is likely to stay the course the longest....

The battleground where his chances do not appear as good is Washington. The United States today has become home to a veritable industry of defeat - producing books, TV documentaries, research papers, intelligence analyses and feature movies destined for a growing market. Almost every day, some article assuming that the United States has already been defeated in Iraq, and recommendmeasures to deal with the consequences of defeat. And when the United States does something, it does it Big: The defeat industry is assuming a bewildering scale.

The citizen-soldier Petraeus is certain to win in Baghdad - just as Gens. Tommy Frank, Rick Sanchez and Casey did in different contexts. But will Washington allow his win to be recognized as victory?