Former CIA Director Michael Hayden told Newsmax TV yesterday that Iraq is finished. “The state of Iraq as we know it is gone,” he said, “and it’s not going to be reconstituted.” Hayden expressed no confidence in current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a view that is backed by the White House. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that the Obama administration is distancing itself from Maliki with some top officials pushing for the PM’s ouster in exchange for providing help to stabilize Iraq.

• Politico: Is Afghanistan Next?
• The Hill: Brett Favre Tries a Hail Mary for Cochran in Mississippi Senate Race
• WSJ: Americans Slept More than Twice as Long as They Worked Last Year