Pace sees significant improvement in Iraq

AP/NY Times:

In his most optimistic remarks since the U.S. troop buildup began, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that Iraq has undergone a ''sea change'' in security in recent months, and that this will influence his recommendation to President Bush on how long to continue the current strategy.

After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here but also in Baghdad, where he began his Iraq visit on Monday.

He was asked whether this would inform his thinking about whether to continue the current strategy, with extra U.S. troops battling to security Baghdad and Anbar province.

''It will because what I'm hearing now is a sea change that is taking place in many places here,'' he replied. ''It's no longer a matter of pushing al-Qaida out of Ramadi, for example, but rather -- now that they have been pushed out -- helping the local police and the local army have a chance to get their feet on the ground and set up their systems.''

Pace said earlier in Baghdad that the U.S. military is continuing various options for Iraq, including an even bigger troop buildup if President Bush thinks his ''surge'' strategy needs a further boost.

Pace said the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force are developing their own assessment of the situation in Iraq, to be presented to Bush in September, that will be separate from a report to Congress that month by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander for Iraq.

...

Pace conferred Monday with Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, who said he did not currently foresee requesting more troops.

''Right now I can't find an assessment where I would say I need more troops,'' Odierno said, adding that he is confident that by September he will be able to give Petraeus his advice on how the troop buildup is working.

''My assessment right now is, I need more time'' to understand how the offensive targeting al-Qaida in Iraq is working and how it could lead to political progress, Odierno said.

''I'm seeing some progress now here in Iraq. We have really just started what the Iraqis term 'liberating' them from al-Qaida. What I've got to determine is what do I need in order to continue that progress so that the political piece can then take hold and Iraqi security forces can hold this for the long term.''

Time needed to win is the one things that Democrats are unwilling to give the troops. There may be other things that are not willing to give the troops, but it is clear that Democrats are not supporting their efforts and want them to fail. That is why they are not willing to wait for a report in September but insist on pushing failure resolutions right now. It is idiotic in the extreme but it is the Harry Reid Nancy Pelosi Democrats who are determined to lose this war as quickly as possible.