Interesting Analysis From Froomkin

BushCo has made an important admission when it comes the its Iraq Fiasco:

President Bush and national security adviser Stephen Hadley yesterday for the first time publicly acknowledged the momentous shift in the role for U.S. troops in Iraq, from fighting terrorists to trying to suppress religious violence.

This sea change was described in such understated terms that it was eclipsed by news about the crisis in Lebanon. Bush described a change in tactics; Hadley called it a repositioning.

But it's a historic admission: That job one for many American troops in Iraq is no longer fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, or even insurgents. Rather, it is trying to quell an incipient -- if not already raging -- sectarian civil war, with Baghdad as ground zero.

Arguably, that's been the case for quite a while. But having the White House own up to it is a very big deal.

As things stand now, an overwhelming majority of the American public no longer supports Bush's handling of the war, which they think was a mistake in the first place. A majority wants American troops to start coming home soon. What unqualified support there is for the war seems to come from people who believe it is central front in the war on terror.

But how will people feel about our troops being sent into the crossfire between rival Muslim sects? That is not the war anyone signed up to fight.

It will be interesting to see whether the Corporate Media pick up on the Bush Regime's change of perception with regard to Iraq. But fortunately for Bush, the media is now focusing on the Israel/Lebanon conflict and is thus doing very little reporting on the Iraq Debacle.

No wonder Bush is opposing a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Sure, he and Condi Rice are getting a lot of criticism for how they are handling that particular crisis, but it is keeping the minds of the American people off of the miserable situation in Iraq.