MODIFIED LIMITED HANGOUT If you're reading this article from today's New York Times, which suggests that the surge is going to go on a wee bit longer than everyone thought... The day-to-day commander of American forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened American troop levels there be maintained through February 2008, military officials said Wednesday.... ... go back and read this Newsweek article from a couple of weeks ago, which suggests that the surge is going to go on a lot longer than everyone thought: ...what few people seem to have noticed is that Gen. David Petraeus's new "surge" plan is committing U.S. troops, day by day, to a much deeper and longer-term role in policing Iraq than since the earliest days of the U.S. occupation. How long must we stay under the Petraeus plan? Perhaps 10 years. At least five.... But don't take my word for it. I'm merely a messenger for a coterie of counterinsurgency experts who have helped to design the Petraeus plan -- his so-called "dream team" --and who have discussed it with NEWSWEEK, usually on condition of anonymity, owing to the sensitivity of the subject.... That may have been the plan all along: to make a long-term commitment to Iraq (a "do-over," as it's called in the Newsweek article) but to portray it as a "surge" which -- funny thing -- keeps having to be extended.