Or, to be more precise, “the victory that we’ve had so far.” Much depends on those last two words, needless to say. I appreciate the spirit of the blogburst Zombie’s organizing for Saturday, and lord knows he/she has plenty of credible milblogger opinion to support the argument, but five years of having to wear the “Mission Accomplished” albatross around our necks is enough to make me blanch forevermore at declarations of victory, especially when Petraeus himself has vowed never to use the word. How about, in lieu of Victory in Iraq Day, we celebrate Tremendous Progress in Iraq that Almost No One Thought Possible, Least of All Our Modern-Day Lincoln Day instead?

Speaking of Lincoln, the relentlessly anti-war McClatchy is dumping all over the new security pact but read this WaPo story from yesterday to see how much easier it makes things for The One. He gets his timetable after all — with Bush’s name on the dotted line and, just maybe, Bush’s defense secretary to see it through. Click the image to watch.

Update: Did I neglect to mention that the pact still needs to be approved by the Iraqi parliament? Gulp.