The excuse trifecta

From the Pentagon announcement that George Bush will conduct a major Iraq meeting with his generals tomorrow --

Army Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock ... warned, however, that a number of factors may dare the enemy to increase attacks. With the pending report to Congress, the beginning of Ramadan next month, and the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, "we can expect the enemy to try to accomplish more high-profile, highly visible attacks to flavor how those reports are received," he said.

i.e. anything bad that happens shouldn't count as lack of progress and/or is all the fault of people wanting these pesky progress reports.