Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. 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.

After the furnace-like heat, the first thing you notice when you land in Baghdad is the morale of our troops. In previous trips to Iraq we often found American troops angry and frustrated — many sensed they had the wrong strategy, were using the wrong tactics and were risking their lives in pursuit of an approach that could not work.

Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Economics, Politics • Iraq War

1. john scholasticus wrote: Let’s hope this is true. It would be wonderful if it were. July 31, 3:01 pm | [comment link]

2. libraryjim wrote: It IS true. Unbiased news reports from Iraq have been saying all along.  But the big cable news networks, such as CNN, which hailed the news last night (e.g., David Ignatius of the Washington Post even went as far to say on CNN that the war in Iraq is one front on the war on terrorism!1), were today scrambling to re-present it as ‘pro-military propaganda’ and distance themselves from it! I guess the Democratic leadership who pulls their strings didn’t like it that something positive from Iraq got through their barracade. 1.) Chris Matthew’s show, CNN: These struggles are different fronts of the same war.  The notion that, you know, a defeat to the United States and its allies in Iraq is costless in terms of the larger war against Al-Qaeda, is just wrong.  I mean, you know, bin Laden said again and again, the Americans are weak; if you hit ‘em hard, they’ll run away.  They were hit hard in Beirut; they ran away.  They were hit hard in Somalia; they ran away. July 31, 5:02 pm | [comment link]

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