Editorial: No end to patience?

Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007 | 7:40 a.m.

After misleading the American people and Congress about the reasons why Iraq had to be invaded, President Bush began asking for their patience when it became obvious that his administration had also been misleading them when it predicted an easy and quick victory.

He asked the country to bear with him while the Iraqi government grew strong. That hasn't happened.

He asked for patience until Iraqis could be trained to defend themselves. That hasn't happened.

He asked for more patience until his "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" could be implemented. That hasn't worked

He asked for even more patience until the bipartisan Iraq Study Group made its recommendations. When the report was finished in December, he ignored most of its recommendations and ordered a surge in troop deployments.

Then he asked for the country's patience until the U.S. military commander in Iraq , Gen. David Petraeus, gave a report about the surge in September.

Now - surprise, surprise - Bush is planning to announce tonight his acceptance of Petraeus' report, delivered to Congress on Monday and Tuesday. The report's theme, of course, is for the country to be patient once again.

Petraeus told Congress that 30,000 troops - equaling the number in the surge - could be withdrawn from Iraq by next July, conditions permitting. The general was careful to say he didn't want that number or that timeline to be put into legislation.

So now the surge, which was to last eight months at the most when Bush ordered it in January, is set to last 19 months or longer.

News reports say that Bush, in a televised address tonight, will emphasize that the withdrawal will take place only if warranted by conditions on the ground. Even if the withdrawal takes place, 130,000 American troops will remain in Iraq, an amount equal to the presurge level - meaning there would be no net reduction in troops.

This is vintage Bush, promoting a "way forward" that changes nothing and offers nothing, except a demand for more patience.