Guest Author - Nicole Collins
Despite long-standing opposition to the war, several President Bush adversaries in the Democratic Party have recently begun to recognize good news coming out of Iraq.
This falls on the heels of a recent study conducted by the Brookings Institute. Analysts Michael E. O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack, of Brookings, visited the country and returned with unexpected conclusions.
"We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms," they said in their July 30 New York Times article. "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."
General David Petraeus is expected to release an official report of the progress in Iraq on September 15. How he will report is unclear as of yet.
In addition to the Brookings study, the USA Today released a poll Monday that showed growing support for the surge among Americans. Of those polled, 31% believe the additional troops are “making the situation better” which is up 9% from just a month ago.
Following these reports, several Democrats have publicly remarked that America is seeing positive returns on the increased number of troops deployed. Sen. Carl Levin, D-MI, having just returned from a fact-gathering mission to Iraq, agreed that security there has improved.
In a statement issued with Sen. John Warner, R-VA, he said, "We have seen indications that the surge of additional brigades to Baghdad and its immediate vicinity and the revitalized counter-insurgency strategy being employed have produced tangible results in making several areas of the capital more secure. We are also encouraged by continuing positive results — in al-Anbar Province, from the recent decisions of some of the Sunni tribes to turn against Al Qaeda and cooperate with coalition force efforts to kill or capture its adherents."
Despite the progress, they remain concerned “that in the absence of overall national political reconciliation, we may be inadvertently helping to create another militia which will have to be dealt with in the future.”
Levin and Warner are not the only Senate Democrats to acknowledge progress. Presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, said “It’s working” but the progress comes “too late.” She went on to say that she still believes it is time to bring the troops home.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, said, “The surge has resulted in a reduction of violence in many parts of Iraq. More American troops have brought more peace to more parts of Iraq. I think that's a fact.”
