They mostly remain convinced that the problem is only temporary, that the economic reports are coming in worse than their forecasts only because they under-estimated the effect the surge in energy and commodity prices would have on consumer spending, and the effect the Japanese earthquake would have on auto and technology production.
Our commanders will soon be hard pressed to preserve today's deployments of American forces in Iraq, let alone to have them take up once again the sorts of positions in the urban areas that they held to such therapeutic effect during the surge.