I’m lifting this from Danger Room so I’ll send you over there for background. A tough watch, needless to say. Keane, incidentally, co-authored the plan with Fred Kagan last year that later became the blueprint for the surge. Kagan told Time today that he sees some progress, especially among the Sunnis and their attitudes towards Al Qaeda, but that Petraeus will need until the end of the year at least to see real progress. Watch the video of Mitch McConnell from this morning if you haven’t already; he doesn’t sound warm to the idea. It might not matter: the “second surge,” engineered by overlapping departing and arriving troops, could ensure elevated troop levels through New Year’s.