War is essentially won in 14 of 18 Iraqi provinces

Rowan Scarborough:

Troops on the ground in Iraq are not bothered by outside commissions such as the Iraq Study Group recommending new military strategies, former officers said yesterday.
And soldiers do not mind frank talk, such as Defense Secretary-designate Robert M. Gates saying at his Senate confirmation hearing this week that the United States is neither winning nor losing in Iraq.
"What we're not winning is the nation building," said retired Marine Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command when the U.S.-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein. "The troops know exactly what they're doing and they know basically that in 14 out of 18 provinces, that they are winning the war on the ground."
Gen. DeLong said the real enemy is sectarian violence. Until the Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims stop killing each other, the United States can take only limited steps to end the fighting.
Charles Krohn, who earned the Silver Star in Vietnam while an infantry officer, said soldiers in combat do not normally concern themselves with "grand strategy," such as the Iraq Study Group report delivered yesterday to President Bush.
"If you are in a small unit in Iraq, you are so tied to your buddies right next to you and the next mission and getting it right and trying to survive that you don't have time to think of grand strategy," the retired lieutenant colonel said.
But an Army Green Beret said such militarily inexperienced panels can hurt morale.
"From what I have seen, they are a lot of white-haired politicos with zero military knowledge and experience," said the soldier, who asked not to be named. "I hope that it will be politely shelved and Bush will rely on those that have some idea what they are talking about. The only effect this will have on the troops, assuming that it's ignored, is a slight dip in morale."
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Why didn't they seek and follow military advice on dealing with the enemy in Iraq? My best guess is that they knew they would not get the consensus they were seeking. Fortunately the Joint Chiefs are putting their own set of recommendations together and they will at least make some military sense. Then the question will become whether there is enough political will to execute them.