Because that war on terror is going soooo well.

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The person who provided the draft report to The Post said it was being conveyed from a government official who feared that its pessimistic conclusions would be watered down in the final version -- as some officials have said happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. Congress requested the GAO report, along with an assessment of the Iraqi security forces by an independent commission headed by retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, to provide a basis for comparison with the administration's scorecard. The Jones report is also scheduled for delivery next week.

Gee, the White House is planning to spin another report? That's a shock.

Report Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals - washingtonpost.com

Despite this staggering mess, there are no noble outcomes for those who have blown the whistle, according to a review of such cases by The Associated Press.

"If you do it, you will be destroyed," said William Weaver, professor of political science at the University of Texas-El Paso and senior advisor to the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition.

Tell the truth, try to make things actually work, and kiss your ass goodbye. When everything that has gone on for the past few years finally comes out, people are going to look back at Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon, compare W to them, and ol' tailgunner Joe and Tricky Dick are going to look like paragons of virtue and rectitude.

Whistleblowers on Fraud Facing Penalties - Forbes.com

Despite Bush's repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government.

And with the White House being so candid with their other assessments, anyone want to make a wager on what this one is going to say?

Top general may propose pullbacks - Los Angeles Times

Walking through the bazaar it takes less than 10 minutes for a vendor in his early 20s to step out and ask, "You want whiskey?" "No, heroin," I tell him. He ushers me into his store with a smile.

And this is winning???

It's easy for soldiers to score heroin in Afghanistan | Salon News

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Interior Ministry source told Aswat al-Iraq that, “Three guards working for the Dar al-Salam Bank located on Sa'adoun Street in central Baghdad were able to attack the bank . . . stealing a sum of up to $282 million dollars, and fled in an unknown direction after implementing the operation.”

That's cash, in US dollars. So who's funding the insurgency? Maybe us?

IraqSlogger: Massive Bank Heist in Central Baghdad

This week, we learn that Khan is "virtually a free citizen," and has been for "several months." What's more, Spencer Ackerman noted, "Musharraf refused to allow U.S. intelligence officials to question Khan, and Congress has raised questions over whether the proliferation network Khan created is truly out of business."

That's right, AQ Khan, the father of the Islamic Bomb. The same guy who told the North Koreans how to build one. Here's your war on terror at work.

A.Q. Khan, By Steve Benen - CBS News

The target was a meeting of Qaeda leaders that intelligence officials thought included Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden’s top deputy and the man believed to run the terrorist group’s operations.

But the mission was called off after Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, rejected an 11th-hour appeal by Porter J. Goss, then the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, officials said. Members of a Navy Seals unit in parachute gear had already boarded C-130 cargo planes in Afghanistan when the mission was canceled, said a former senior intelligence official involved in the planning.

Unbelievable... No I take that back. Totally believable. Everything these guys touch, they manage to turn into a steaming pile of shit. Every. Single. Thing.

U.S. Aborted Raid on Qaeda Chiefs in Pakistan in ’05 - New York Times

Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.

Well gee, I see that "fight them there so we don't have to fight them here" strategy is working so</> well. Maybe if we'd actually taken out Bin Laden and company and taken out the Taliban in Afghanistan instead of stepping on the national crank wearing golf shoes in Iraq, maybe we wouldn't have this problem.

Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe

A prosecuting attorney said he would appeal the dismissal of the case.

Under the new war-crimes trial system, the prosecution has 72 hours to appeal, but the court designated to hear the appeal _ known as the court of military commissions review _ doesn't even exist, Sullivan noted.

Even as the U.S. military hoped to rev up its prosecutions of Guantanamo detainees _ with the Pentagon saying it expects to eventually charge about 80 of the 380 prisoners held at this isolated base _ questions lingered about the legitimacy of the process.

Charge 80 of the 380? Wait, weren't these supposed to be "the worst of the worst?" If you're only charging about one in five of them, that sounds like quality control has some serious issues...

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Detainee - The Huffington Post