Dan Froomkin points out the obvious (at least, obvious to the reality-based community if not the traditional media)

The Suspense Charade

"Much of the press seems to be going along with a narrative that involves suspense over what Petraeus and Crocker will say and what Bush will decide. It's true that the public doesn't know the details yet, but it really couldn't be more obvious that Bush already knows full well what Petraeus and Crocker will tell Congress next week -- and has already decided on what he himself will tell the nation the following week. What's going on now is not deliberation, it's a PR campaign. . . "

What Bush Saw

"More than four years after declaring 'Mission Accomplished' in Iraq, Bush still can't make an announced visit to the war-wracked country.

But his supposed 'visit to Anbar Province' was in some ways even more cynical -- and accepted even more gullibly by the media -- than his June 2006 visit to Baghdad. There, at least, he actually set foot on Iraqi soil.

This time, Bush visited Al-Asad Air Base -- an enormous, heavily fortified American outpost for 10,000 troops that while technically in Anbar Province in fact has a 13-mile perimeter keeping Iraq -- and Iraqis -- at bay. Bush never left the confines of the base, known as " Camp Cupcake," for its relatively luxurious facilities, but nevertheless announced: 'When you stand on the ground here in Anbar and hear from the people who live here, you can see what the future of Iraq can look like.'. . . ."

(emphasis added)

H/T to Atrios via Ben Goshi at dailykos

Brandon Friedman pointed out the real cynicism behind the show of Bush's visit to Iraq in Commander Guy Gets His Dog and Pony Show.

Point 1

See that officer getting the troops all riled up from the podium? Whatever his own political leanings, that officer was instructed by someone above him to go out there and look like he couldn’t be happier introducing Commander Guy to the troops.

~snip~

Point 2

Hear all those troops clapping and yelling, lusting for more war? They were either hand-picked to attend or they were forced to be there. And in either case, they were told to clap and yell. I know this because I’ve participated in a number of them myself. That crowd in the tent wasn’t a random sample of troops. Commander Guy, his cronies in the Pentagon, and certain fawning officers would have you believe that 100% of the troops are fully behind his failed war, but that’s not the case.

~snip~

Point 3

But let’s take it a step further: Let’s look at who exactly was in attendance at this event. First off, before Commander Guy took the stage, the officer at the podium requested that each service cheer when he called them out: Marines, sailors, soldiers, and airmen. Now, very rarely would you ever find all four services in the same tent. This means that this was deliberately set up so that each service had representation when Commander Guy took the stage. This means there was a lot of hurried organizing that took place at the airfield once it was made clear that W. was en route.

So how does a unit organize a dog and pony show on short notice? Well, it happens like this: Word goes out to each of the service’s unit commanders in the area. The commander is told to provide X number of troops for the event. So the commander goes to his subordinate commanders with the request. They’re told to round up the troops. Now, the easiest thing for them to do is to ask for volunteers. This makes the sympathetic crowd self-selecting. Grumblers and surrender monkeys get to hang out in their trailers, writing letters to girls they pray won’t leave them over the course of the 15 months, while Real American Patriots (and people who don’t know much about history) get to go egg on Commander Guy.

If the unit commander can’t get enough volunteers, on the other hand, he or she is forced to make attendance and participation mandatory. In this case, a junior officer or senior NCO orders a group of lower enlisted troops to go and clap. End of story.

The whole diary is worth a read.

As Bush pleads for more patience, more US troops and Iraqi civilians end up as patients -- those who survive.