Speaking of football, let’s punt the ball down the field some more:

Lynch said he had projected in March, when he arrived as part of the troop buildup, that it would take him about 15 months to accomplish his mission, which would be summer 2008.

Right. And then there’s Iraqi ambassador Ryan Crocker:

Crocker, speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Iraqi political reconciliation “has a considerable ways to go.” At this stage, he said, his focus is less on ensuring that the Iraqi government reaches the specific legislative and security benchmarks set by Congress, and more on developing a process for government factions to work together.

So the benchmarks are a sham, too.

It’s all a sham. We’re not leaving in September, when Petraeus tells us how well we’re doing. We’re not leaving in summer 2008, because these changes will just be taking hold and we’ll “need more time.” We’re not leaving, Crocker confirms, until the ”governing factors” join hands and sing Kumbaya.

So pencil it in your calendar, it’s firm: We’ll definitely, positively be leaving on the 12th.

Of never.