If cliches were weapons ...

... then the Pentagon would have this Iraq mess won a long time ago --

This week’s elections sent a signal that America, just like Iraq, is in a period of transition, but in no way diminish the two countries’ mutual commitment to success in Iraq, the spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq said today in Baghdad. “Here in Iraq, we look forward to working with a new secretary after the Senate confirmation process,” Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told military analysts by phone.

“We are aware that there will be changes on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon and that a period of transition will occur,” he said. “But we also heard the president’s commitment to sustain our partnership with the people and government of Iraq.”

Events in Iraq demonstrate the complex dynamics involved in transition, Caldwell said. “With transition, obviously, comes change, and with change comes challenges,” he said. “And these challenges are sometimes perceived as setbacks when, in fact, they are actually signs of growth.”

He could have elaborated on the Iraq-US analogy by saying that they both now have "unity governments." And he forgot the bit about the Chinese word for "crisis" being the same as the word for opportunity.