Iraq Progress Is Accelerating

Steady progress continues to be made in Iraq. This is a problem for the Democrats who have to keep changing their story on why we are failing.

First we achieved a number of important benchmarks, including writing and ratifying a constitution and holding free elections. The Democrats argued that benchmarks were not meaningful and that the carnage on the ground showed we had no hope of success.

Recognizing that a political solution could not be achieved without a change in military strategy, President Bush re-made the team, now led by Defense Secretary Gates and General Petreaus.

General Petreaus engineered a radically different strategy to combating the insurgency. Previously the U.S. forces had been based in large, heavily fortified bases like the one near the Bagdahd airport. Bolstered by the additional brigades from the surge, General Petreaus sent the troops into the field, setting up local security stations in each neighborhood, manned by a joint Iraqi and U.S. team. Combined with Al Qaeda badly overplaying its hand this neighborhood security and policing strategy made all the difference.

Iraq is far from being a safe place. But the violence throughout the country has dropped farther and faster than anyone could have hoped. The Democrat's response? They now are insisting that achieving benchmarks is the most important measure of success. Sure, they say, the security situation has improved dramatically. But benchmarks that were set by Congress such as ratifying an oil revenue sharing plan have not been achieved.

But what the Democrats are ignoring is that in practice, if not in law, the spirit of the benchmarks is being achieved on the ground. The Iraqi legislature has not been able to finalize an oil revenue sharing agreement. But in fact, oil revenues are being distributed by the Maliki government to the provinces in a fair way. In many other ways the lack of legislatively achieving benchmarks is being offset by pragmatically achieving the same results on the ground.

In Southern Iraq, British troops have been able to completely hand over the administration and security of the region to the Iraqis. Rival Shiite factions that had been warring now have decided that it is better to cooperate and benefit from the riches of Iraq's most productive oil reserves.

In Northern Iraq, where sabotage to oil fields and pipelines has been rampant, oil production has steadily increased. Today's Wall Street Journal reported that oil production for Iraq as a whole now equals pre-war levels.

So first the Democrats were against benchmarks as a measure of success. Now they insist that only legislative benchmarks are a measure of success. And all along, they are blind to the practical progress that is happening every day at the grass root level.