Zawahiri doesn't sound very optimistic. But expect continued blather from the media and Congressional "leadership" about how we're the ones losing the war.

Rand,

I post this comment here (War Commentary) to be "100% on-topic" :) since this news is a BOMB:

Scott "Doc" Horowitz, the Constellation head, the INVENTOR of the "stick" (a.k.a. Ares-I) and one of the father of the ESAS/VSE plan, will soon leave NASA, "to devote more attention to my family responsibilities", he said

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/horo071207.xml&headline=NASA%20Exploration%20Chief%20Departing

is this a strong signal that something is going wrong in the 5-seg.SRB/Ares-I/Orion/ESAS projects/plan?

is he leaving NASA before be fired? ...or this yet IS a "soft way" to be fired?

or... is he going to a private company to earn more money?

however, if the "stick" can't work, here you can find MANY smart, cheap and easy alternatives:

http://www.gaetanomarano.it/articles/articles.html

I may have missed any commentary on this, but no one seems to be pointing out that Bush spent the whole press conference say we are fighting Al Queda, then concluded by disagreeing that Al Queda is stronger then it was in 2001. In 2001, they highjacked four airliners using box cutters and today, according to administration spin, they have the entire United States Army bogged down! How do people sit there and not start laughing, I don't know.

We're saving the laughter for your ignorance Josh.

Josh Marshall:

There was no way the Israelis could defeat 3 Arab armies in 1967 either. See? I can do non sequiturs too. Al Queda didn't need to show their strength before 2001. How many well trained members did we kill in Afghanistan? Thousands. Because a small cell pulled off a spectacular attack has what relationship to their overall strength? You will have to define bogged down because we are killing more of them than they are of us and we are taking control of more and more territory. I reviewed his remarks, when did he say we were "bogged down"? I laughed...right after I read your comment.