The Associated Press: Analysis: US now winning Iraq war that seemed lostHaving read Feith's book - it's rather clear a lot of trust was put in folks in the State Department that weren't at all clear what was going on, and then Bush was reluctant to change when the State Department personnel were going "We're doing all we can, but those Iraqis just aren't cooperating with our restructuring work!" That the restructuring wasn't working didn't seem to fit in - on paper it should work so therefore it was reality that was wrong, not the plan. The plan was being followed, all was right with the world.BAGHDAD (AP) — The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost.
Limited, sometimes sharp fighting and periodic terrorist bombings in Iraq are likely to continue, possibly for years. But the Iraqi government and the U.S. now are able to shift focus from mainly combat to mainly building the fragile beginnings of peace — a transition that many found almost unthinkable as recently as one year ago.
Despite the occasional bursts of violence, Iraq has reached the point where the insurgents, who once controlled whole cities, no longer have the clout to threaten the viability of the central government.
That does not mean the war has ended or that U.S. troops have no role in Iraq. It means the combat phase finally is ending, years past the time when President Bush optimistically declared it had. The new phase focuses on training the Iraqi army and police, restraining the flow of illicit weaponry from Iran, supporting closer links between Baghdad and local governments, pushing the integration of former insurgents into legitimate government jobs and assisting in rebuilding the economy.
Well, it's water under the bridge at this point. Things are coming along okay in Iraq, and if we don't screw it up they're going to be a free, democratic country in a year or two.
But I'm not going to underestimate the ability of the Democrats to pull defeat out of the jaws of victory.
J.