TOP GENERAL: DEM PULLOUT PLAN BAD TIMING

General John Abizaid testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Washington Times) From another story: "Specific timetables limit that flexibility," he insisted. When Senator Hillary Clinton remarked that "hope is not a strategy", Gen Abizaid agreed but added that despair was not a policy either. (Telegraph) From Larry Elder: Pre-election, Democrats claimed they possessed a "unified" strategy to deal with Iraq. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had a "four-point plan." Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., the architect of the Democratic House takeover, touted his "five-point plan." But on election night, after the Democratic takeover became obvious, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., offered a slightly different perspective. Sherman: I don't think the party has united behind a plan that is any more specific than we should leave a little sooner than George Bush has in mind. (Townhall)