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USA Today
The United States has no yardstick for measuring progress in the war on terrorism, has not "yet made truly bold moves" in fighting al-Qaeda and other terror groups, and is in for a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a memo that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sent to top-ranking Defense officials last week.

"No yardstick" means that we really don't know whether we're making progress or not, which means that all the claims that such-and-such "is necessary" or "means we're winning" is basically reagent-grade bullshit.