The Nation | Blog | The Daily Outrage | Honor Thy Neighbor | Ari Berman: "As the Bush Administration deflates its expectations in Iraq, Iran is raising them.

'US Lowers Sights on What Can Be Achieved in Iraq: Administration is Shedding 'Unreality' That Dominated Invasion, Official Says,' read a Sunday Washington Post headline.

Physical Security? Thirty-eight US troops died between August 3 and August 10, the fourth-worst week of the invasion. August has been the worst month for the over-stretched Army National Guard and Reserves. Attacks on the new Iraqi security force have tripled since January. Four thousand civilians have died since the interim government assumed power April 28. Parents refuse to let their children play outside. 'Do not expect us to defeat this insurgency,' Bush Administration officials reportedly told National Review's Byron York."

(Via The Nation Weblogs.)