But it bears noting that the month preceding the elections has already been one of the worst since the war began. Till Sunday, the US forces’ October casualty count had reached 83 with on-ground commanders admitting that the two-month plan to contain the insurgency had failed to achieve its aim. Bush’s approval ratings are below 40 per cent and with the violence constantly rising, it is difficult to see the Republicans maintaining their majority in Congress. It seems they are unable to decide whether announcing policy change now – which would amount to a marked departure from the stay-the-course stance adopted so far — would bolster the Democrats’ case in the public eye.

The word in Washington is that the administration might use the James Baker group’s findings to prompt an exit strategy, which is why it has set for the report to be issued after the November 7 elections. Seen in light of ground realities, there are two compelling arguments for making those findings, and subsequent strategy, public before the elections. First, the war has already thoroughly devastated Iraq.

To delay measures aimed at restoring some sort of order for the sake of securing Congress majority should only serve to further alienate the already discontented public from the powers that be. Second, it does not reflect too well on the world’s most powerful democracy, which went to war to supposedly spread the democratic values it cherishes, to keep its own people in the dark ahead of the crucial vote. Especially since the election result will have profound implications on American and therefore international politics.