US generals give 6 mos. to win in Iraq before US faces 'Vietnam-style collapse' of support

team of military officers advising General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, have concluded that the United States has 6 months to win the war in Iraq or it will face a "Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat," reports Guardian Unlimited.

The officers that make up the elite team are combat veterans who are considered to be counter-insurgency experts, writes Simon Tisdall. They are charged with implementing President Bush's new plan for Iraq, which includes the controversial "surge."

A former senior Bush administration official tells the Guardian that the team does not even yet have a firm grasp of what the plan is. "The plan is changing every minute, as all plans do," the unnamed official is quoted.