On 5 November, in a post entitled "congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama," I wrote:

I hope Obama completes the mission in Iraq regardless of where the credit for success may fall. If the president-elect decides to retain Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, and David Petraeus as commander of Cent-Com, and allows them to back us out of Iraq in a responsible fashion, he will have my undying gratitude for the duration of his administration.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!?!

According to the AP, Gates will stay on as Secretary of Defense for at least a year.

Remarkable. Truly Remarkable.

I will happily stand by my pledge.