U.S. offers forecast on Iraq insurgency : give up within 5 years

By John Hendren Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
1 hour, 12 minutes ago

Insurgents in Iraq probably will sustain the current rate of bloody attacks for at least six months, through the next elections, and expect the United States to give up on Iraq within five years, senior defense officials in Baghdad said Friday.

Increasingly violent suicide and roadside bombings are expected to continue at a rate of 65 daily--nearly 500 a week--as insurgents hold enough popular support to carry them out, the officials said, outlining the coalition's latest intelligence assessment of security here.

Hoping that support for the government wanes, rebel forces are banking on a coalition withdrawal that allows them to overtake a weakened Iraqi government, said the officials.

"We have to make certain assumptions for planning. Because the number of incidents and indicators have been relatively stable, we must assume that will hold true for the next several months, absent a diplomatic and a political breakthrough ," said Lt. Gen. John Vines, the commander in charge of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/chitribts/20050724/ts_chicagotrib/usoffersforecastoniraqinsurgency

All pulled straight out of some PR flack's ass, and
all Deja Vu all over again.