You can almost see it, can't you?

(NYTimes) - The five-page document, classified secret, is based in part on a one-on-one meeting between Mr. Hadley and Mr. Maliki on Oct. 30.

“His intentions seem good when he talks with Americans, and sensitive reporting suggests he is trying to stand up to the Shia hierarchy and force positive change,” the memo said of the Iraqi leader. “But the reality on the streets of Baghdad suggests Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into action.”

You can almost see some national security advisor in Baghdad (Hadley is Dubya's) writing the exact same memo after a visit with the DOOFUS. I'd be betting on all three myself: clueless, dissembling, and incompetent. But hey, it'd only take one to really screw things up.

It's getting more and more like looking in a mirror, isn't it? A story in the same paper the other day suggested this war in Iraq has been just as good financially to the terrorist and insurgent groups over there as it has been to Haliburton, Raytheon, and Northrup Grumman here.

Next thing you know, Maliki himself will pop up in Washington unannounced, bearing a plastic turkey. There's still Christmas to get though, after all.