Mr. Gates goes to Baghdad

I was wrong.

I guessed that the troops' Christmas surprise this year would be new SecDef Bob Gates* visiting, and maybe even serving turkey (or turkee).

He beat my estimate by about five days.

On just his third day in his post, Gates journeyed to Iraq armed with a mandate from
President Bush to help forge a new Iraq war strategy. His goal is get advice from his top military commanders on a new strategy for the increasingly unpopular, costly and chaotic war — a conflict that Bush conceded Tuesday the U.S. is not winning.

"We discussed the obvious things," Gates told reporters after meeting with top U.S. generals. "We discussed the possibility of a surge and the potential for what it might accomplish."

His trip so soon after taking office underscored the Bush administration's effort to be seen as energetically seeking a new path in the conflict.

Gates said he was only beginning the process of determining how to reshape U.S. policy in the war. He said before making final decisions, he would also confer with top Iraqi officials about what the future American role in the country should be.

Yes, let's run over there and get advice that Drunky McStagger won't follow anyway. Great idea.
I said when Gates took over that he wanted the job just for the free trip to Baghdad. I haven't seen anything to change my mind.

* Daily Schadenfreude honoree, 12/18/06.