Mullen: No 'Knockout Punch' in Iraq, Afghanistan (Isn't that what Bush said?)

fox news ^ | 3/4/2010 | AP

[tobyhill]

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that victory in Iraq and Afghanistan won't come in one glorious battle.

Instead, Adm. Mike Mullen told a Kansas State University audience, success in the long wars will be determined by use of military and diplomatic powers, along with support from U.S. allies.

Mullen said there won't be a day when commanders "stand up and say 'That's it, it's over. We won."'

"We will win, but we will do so only over time and only after near-constant reassessment and readjustment," Mullen said. "Quite frankly, it will feel a lot less like a knockout punch and a lot more like recovering from a long illness."

Mullen said the outcome of Sunday's elections in Iraq will indicate how well the United States is doing there. He said in recent visits to Basra and Anbar Province that Iraqis were more concerned about economics and politics than security issues leading up to the vote, which he called "a good sign."

He said the U.S. intends to abide by its security agreement with Iraq and reduce the level of troops there by half to about 50,000 by August.

"There's every indication that an awful lot of Iraqis are going to vote," Mullen said. "I think what is next is dependent on the new Iraqi government."

[ClearCase_guy]

I've seen a couple Liberal news reports lately that pretty muich came out and declared Victory in Iraq -- and seemed to give Obama the credit.

It kills me.