Just curious... What is your definition of "Iraq succeeding"? I must
admit, I've been watching... and I haven't been seeing anything I
would define as "success" -- Certainly not when the total costs of war
(in $$$ and lives and the global perception of our country) are
factored in...

Gosh, even the mainstream media here in America -- normally anything but
Bush allies -- have been documenting our success in Iraq over the last six
months (which tells you that it really started probably a year earlier,
given the "impartial journalists" in this country) -- and the non-mainstream
media have been taking note for far longer. It's hard to believe anyone
could actually ask this question anymore.

General Petraeus has found the right mix of "carrots and sticks" in working
with the various tribes in Iraq. He has worked hard to forge alliances with
the Iraqis to unite against the Al Queda operatives who were laying waste to
their country. Normal life has returned to most of Iraq, violence is down
to levels that would make large American inner cities envious, and real
progress has been made to eradicate AQ.

Schools are open, roads have been rebuilt, power plants are back on line,
telecommunications systems are working, commerce is growing, and the latest
polls show Iraqi citizens are increasingly happy with the way things are
going. Because of "the Surge", our troops are numerous enough to be out
amongst the citizens again, instead of cowering in safe havens, and are
providing a stable sense of law and order that normal Iraqis (and people all
over the world, for that matter) need and want.

By any measure, this is known as "success" -- and even the most rabid
Bush-bashers have been forced to admit it.

Both Obama and Clinton, with their calls for retreat, are looking more out
of step with reality every day -- but it's hurting Hillary's campaign the
worst. As Iraq fades from public view, and attention is focused on
domestic worries, Obama's message for "change" becomes more compelling.

Now, of course, you can argue that success took too long, and cost too many
lives, and we shouldn't have invaded, and any of a hundred other
postulations -- but the bottom line is this: At this point we need a
stable, peaceful, Iraq, allied with us against AQ and radical Islam. Gen.
Petraeus and the U.S. Army is making that happen, and -- although it's still
a tenuous situation -- it's a beautiful thing to see, after so much
bloodshed and waste.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"