That isn't my assessment -- that is the assessment of the Washington Post. And while they insert a few weasel words to make it clear that they don't support the war or the policy, they do concede that those who claim violence and deaths are up are simply wrong.

The trend could change quickly and tragically, of course. Casualties have dropped in the past for a few weeks only to spike again. There are, however, plausible reasons for a decrease in violence. Sunni tribes in Anbar province that once fueled the insurgency have switched sides and declared war on al-Qaeda. The radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr ordered a cease-fire last month by his Mahdi Army. Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top day-to-day commander in Iraq, says al-Qaeda's sanctuaries have been reduced 60 to 70 percent by the surge.

This doesn't necessarily mean the war is being won. U.S. military commanders have said that no reduction in violence will be sustainable unless Iraqis reach political solutions -- and there has been little progress on that front. Nevertheless, it's looking more and more as though those in and outside of Congress who last month were assailing Gen. Petraeus's credibility and insisting that there was no letup in Iraq's bloodshed were -- to put it simply -- wrong.

Actually, what it indicates is that there are concrete US successes in Iraq, and that we can win if we maintain the will.

The question is, does America have the will to win. And more to the point, do the Democrats have the will to win if they are victorious in the 2008 elections.

H/T Don Surber, Captain's Quarters

Posted by: Greg at 05:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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