US Senate Leader Harry Reid told reporters on Thursday, “This war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week.” The majority leader said he has reiterated his point to President Bush that the war could not be won through military force. Reid’s comments came a day after the deadliest single bomb attack in Baghdad since 2003. As expected, his honesty drew swift responses from Republicans in congress, who still uphold that our soldiers are dying for a noble cause.

“I can’t begin to imagine how our troops in the field, who are risking their lives every day, are going to react when they get back to base and hear that the Democrat leader of the United States senate has declared the war is lost,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, the senior Republican in the Senate.

White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino dared Reid to take more radical steps saying, “If this is his true feeling, then it makes one wonder if he has the courage of his convictions and therefore will decide to defund the war.” Democrats have tied a withdrawal from Iraq to a $100 billion emergency war funding measure.

So is the war lost? Well, I guess it depends on what your definition of “is” is. At a high school in Ohio, Bush lowered the standard for success, from a peaceful and democratic Iraq to an Iraq which has less frequent suicide bombings. Bush stated, “If the definition of success in Iraq - or anywhere - is ‘no suicide bombers’, we’ll never be successful.” He continued, “I’m optimistic we can succeed. I wouldn’t ask families to have their troops there if I didn’t think, one, it was necessary, and two, we can succeed. I believe we’re going to succeed.”

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