There are two things we can be sure of in America: Tax Day on April 15th and Bush administration mendacity on Iraq. Both have become dreaded facts of life.

The recent testimony — more like the reading of script — by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker is a case in point.

They told us that almost everything positive in Iraq is a result of the surge; almost everything negative is linked to the perfidy of Iran. Playing their role, Republican and Democratic legislators asked predictable questions, but in the end it was all virtually pointless.

On Thursday, President Bush finished the theatrical run by declaring that, “thanks to the surge, we’ve renewed and revived the prospect of success.” And then he asked for $100 billion more for the war.

If Bush was fearful initially that a Democratically controlled Congress would curtail his Iraq adventures, he quickly realized he needed only the pretense of accountability and then could continue on his merry way. Having agreed to an escalation branded “the surge” 19 months ago, Congress created a reporting mechanism that has become an exercise in spin.

The obligatory testimony to Congress every six months is not really about putting restraints on the administration or stopping the war. Democrats don’t have the spine for that, and Bush uses the occasion as a forum of disinformation to maintain the quagmire in Iraq.

For instance, one of the colorful charts used by Petraeus showed how U.S. spending would sharply go down and Iraqi government spending would dramatically rise. But this chart was basically “guesswork,” as the Washington Post noted. And the graph of U.S. expenditures excluded billions being spent on the salaries of U.S. troops, who are essential to Iraqi security forces.

Bush also uses the six-month ritual to set the stage for conflict with Iran. Petraeus told Congress Iran’s role was “particularly damaging,” “destructive,” “lethal,” and “nefarious.” Bush followed that up by threatening Iran. “The regime in Tehran also has a choice to make. It can live in peace with its neighbor,” Bush said on Thursday, or “America will act to protect our interests, and our troops and our partners.”

The real point of the recent testimony was to let legislators know that the administration was not going to honor the implicit bargain it made with Congress and the American people: that the surge was a temporary necessity and would result in fewer troops in Iraq. That deal is over and done with. Petraeus made clear that the drawdown would come to an end after July, and that at least 140,000 troops will still be in country well into 2009.

Perhaps he was anticipating a future President McCain whose continual rosy portrayal of Iraq is as frightful as it is illogical. McCain repeated a Bush-like mantra that “success is within reach,” which is further than even Petraeus would go.

The Bush administration has once again bamboozled Congress over the issue of Iraq, and the administration is now simply running out the clock. Bush has made it painfully clear that he would rather sacrifice more lives and more resources than face the reality of the destruction that he has wrought.

His last gambit will be to pass the buck on to the next president.

Clarence Lusane is an associate professor at American University and author of many books, including, most recently, “Colin Powell-Condoleezza Rice: Foreign Policy, Race and the New American Century.” He can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.