Progress In Iraq

Interesting op-ed in the NYT today – interesting for a number of reasons. First, it’s in the NYT and authored by a couple of liberals from the Brookings Institute. This isn’t interesting in and of itself – the interesting part is that its conclusion is that we’re making progress in Iraq toward a “sustainable stability.”

Here’s a good excerpt:

[i]As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration�??s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with…

Everywhere, Army and Marine units were focused on securing the Iraqi population, working with Iraqi security units, creating new political and economic arrangements at the local level and providing basic services - electricity, fuel, clean water and sanitation - to the people. Yet in each place, operations had been appropriately tailored to the specific needs of the community. As a result, civilian fatality rates are down roughly a third since the surge began - though they remain very high, underscoring how much more still needs to be done…

The additional American military formations brought in as part of the surge, General Petraeus’s determination to hold areas until they are truly secure before redeploying units, and the increasing competence of the Iraqis has had another critical effect: no more whack-a-mole, with insurgents popping back up after the Americans leave…

Another surprise was how well the coalition’s new Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams are working…

But there is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008.[/i]

Can this somewhat positive and hopeful message get out to the American public? And is it in the political calculations of both political parties to allow it to get out?

New York Times…those right wing hacks.

An unsustainable stability wouldn’t be much of a stability at all…

[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
Interesting op-ed in the NYT today – interesting for a number of reasons. First, it’s in the NYT and authored by a couple of liberals from the Brookings Institute. This isn’t interesting in and of itself – the interesting part is that its conclusion is that we’re making progress in Iraq toward a “sustainable stability.”

Here’s a good excerpt:

[i]As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration�??s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with…

Everywhere, Army and Marine units were focused on securing the Iraqi population, working with Iraqi security units, creating new political and economic arrangements at the local level and providing basic services - electricity, fuel, clean water and sanitation - to the people. Yet in each place, operations had been appropriately tailored to the specific needs of the community. As a result, civilian fatality rates are down roughly a third since the surge began - though they remain very high, underscoring how much more still needs to be done…

The additional American military formations brought in as part of the surge, General Petraeus’s determination to hold areas until they are truly secure before redeploying units, and the increasing competence of the Iraqis has had another critical effect: no more whack-a-mole, with insurgents popping back up after the Americans leave…

Another surprise was how well the coalition’s new Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams are working…

But there is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008.[/i]

Can this somewhat positive and hopeful message get out to the American public? And is it in the political calculations of both political parties to allow it to get out?[/quote]

Nah, any kind of success in Iraq, seriously hurts the democraps chances in the next election so any kind of sucess will not likely spread. They ought not run on the we’ll get the US out of Iraq ticket 'cause thats not something they can promise. And if the confict were to subside sooner, by some miricle, they’re fucked.

Anyway, this is good news, but clearly more has to be done in Iraq. Which suck because I want out, but I am no fool we have to leave it stable and can’t leave until it has some stability.