What If The Surge Is Working?

What if "The Surge" IS making things a bit better for Iraqis? What if by finally, finally bringing a larger force in, allowing the military to apply forces effectively and working with Iraqis instead of against them, things are getting a bit better for the people there? What if this is delaying the civil war that Republican incompetence caused -- and is bringing Iraq some breathing room to look for a diplomatic solution?

Let's step back and take a look at this possibility.

Here is a lesson we should all learn from watching how the conservatives operate: don't do what they do. We should always, always look at things the way they are, and not be blinded by ideology and preconceptions.

Bush and the Republicans have created a terrible, terrible mess in the Middle East. But we have to look at where things are today, and figure out how to make the world better starting today.

We want to avoid bringing about another Darfur in Iraq, so we have to look at where things are today, what might work to make things better, and go from there. What if the surge is working?

Dave Johnson, Seeing the Forest