New York Times Admits the Iraq War is Winnable

  In an op-ed piece in the New York Times the author is admitting that we can win in Iraq. Image that? America can win? I thought we had already lost. So, what is going on here? Could it be, as I believe, that with the Democrats inability to end the war and secure America’s defeat that they are now trying to provide cover for the Democrats? By this I mean because the Democrats have failed to deliver on their promise to end the war, the New York Times and the left leaning media will now start to steer the Democrats back into the center. By saying that the war can be won it will minimize the failure of the Democrats to end it, thus saving face. Or could it be their naivety? Now that these writers have been to Iraq they have seen some of the progress and have decided to report it. I believe it is the former.

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.

  We are finally getting somewhere the author writes. I believe this is an admission that the surge is working.

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.

  According to the author the troops thought the old strategy wasn’t working, but that the new stategy IS working. Troops feel they have the numbers to win. Democrats have been telling us that the surge was just more of the same, that the surge was not a change of coarse. Yet here we have a first hand account that the surge has in fact made a difference, and the troops have the confidence that a difference will be continued to be made in the future.

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

  This is just an incredible acticle to have appeared in the New York Times. The fact that they are admitting something going well in Iraq is astonishing. That is why I believe they are doing this to try and benefit the Democrats. The Democrats are so invested in the United States losing the war, that when there is a sign the war might not be going as badly as the Democrats are saying, the NYT feels obligated to reel the Democrats in from the ledge before they jump over it. After all, the Democrats will look foolish if they keep proclaiming the war lost even as we are winning it, and the NYT can’t have that. The last line in the article sort of makes my point.

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

  That last line is telling the Democrats to slow down on the immediate pullout talks. The NYT is trying to give the Democrats their game plan, but I don’t think they will have any of it. I believe that in September Gen. Petraeus’ report will show much progress in Iraq, and I also believe the Democrats are scared to death of this. They don’t want America to show any success. Success in Iraq is bad for the Democrats. That is why I believe they are working so hard to insert timetables and effectively begin to put an  end to the war before this report comes out.   The Democrats need to secure defeat before Gen. Petraeus delivers victory.   Sad. Read the whole article here.