When I was a kid and we were travelling, we'd often ask my father how much longer it would be, and his inevitable (and enfurating) answer would be "half an hour." Now, as a mom myself, I can probably understand how tired he was asking of hearing us ask that question - and how he wanted to avoid us whining if the real answer was more than half an hour (though we always suspected it probably was), though as a child it frustrated me to no end.
Apparently, the American authorities have come up with a similar answer to questions about the war on Iraq (and other wars for that matter). From Virginia Sen. John Warner (R) saying in Nov. 2005 that the next six months is the critical period to restore full sovereignty, to US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad saying in May 2006, that the next 3 to 6 months will be critical in iterms of this government's image and impact on the Iraqi people, it seems that everyone has six months in their minds. Of course, like my dad's half-an-hour, the six months come and go, only to have expectations last another six months - but hey, at least it's an answer.
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