We're trying to watch the War Czar's confirmation hearing (since when do you confirm a czar?), but for the last fifteen or twenty minutes it's been Hillary Clinton monologuing on Iraq, then saying "and I hope you'd agree, General."

So what we know so far is that General Lute thought the troop surge wouldn't work, and now he still thinks that but he has to say that it might work.

Also we learned this, from Jeff Sessions: "Iraq has 1/9th as many prison beds as they do in my home state of Alabama." This is not particularly surprising, but terrifying nonetheless. And it's a fun new yardstick for progress: Iraq will not be free until they have just as many brown people locked up as we do.