Alternate Iraq reports

A very interesting NYTimes article saying that elements within the administration are seeking to obtain alternate September reports to the one to be supplied by Petraeus.

My first instinct is that they are trying to muddy the waters so that there can be no definitive assessment, but the interesting bit comes in regards the expectations from Petraeus.

Little doubt remains that General Petraeus will argue for continuing the troop increase. His deputy, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, told reporters on Friday that Iraqi forces were “getting better,” “staying and fighting,” “taking casualties” and adding to their numbers....

Several officials around Mr. Bush, none of whom would speak on the record about internal White House deliberations, said they wanted to make sure the president was given dissenting viewpoints as he made decisions that would determine whether troop withdrawals began in his last year in office.

In other words, it is fully expected that Petraeus will say anything to keep this boondoggle going, and some people in the White House are so concerned that Bush will be conned by him that they're trying to create some accurate reports in the stream. Wow.