You realize this is simply a very nice way of saying, "We're winning all the battles. Just not the war."
We're losing in Iraq, but not because the military is unsuccessful. How reassuring.
The academic has a lot to learn, I am afraid it is not time for someone to learn, it is a time of war, a time to act and lead, a time to fight and win. Still the President has the final say and he is the only Commander in Chief, however the President has enough problems on his hands and he does not need to correct his secretary of defense when the latter issue a defeatist statement as he did earlier today in the hearings.
Same as in Vietnam, the only way we can lose in Iraq, is if we (or the media) will convince ourselves that we did.