Winning metrics in Iraq

NY Post Editorial:

Iraq is a winnable war.

"Victory" won't come in the form of the ideal democratic state described at the start of the star-crossed enterprise. But that doesn't mean that military and strategic victory isn't possible.

Such a circumstance would look like:

* Al Qaeda ejected from the country - with Iraqis working to keep the insurgents out permanently.

* A waning Iranian influence.

* Sunni-Shia sectarian conflict at a tolerable level.

Weeks ago, such an outcome might have seemed a pipe dream.

But hopeful signs from Iraq abound - stemming from the much-maligned "surge" strategy being pursued so effectively by Gen. David Petraeus.

Since the surge began in February, Iraq has seen:

* The pacification of Anbar province, which had been an al Qaeda stronghold.

* A similar result in adjacent Diyala province.

* The alliance in Salahadin Province of 25 Sunni and Shia tribes around the city of Taji - 12 miles north of Baghdad - to combat members of both al Qaeda in Iraq and Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

* Lasting friendly relations between locals and Coalition forces, with more and more Iraqis willing to assist U.S. troops in identifying hostile agents.

...

Inconvenient facts for the opponents of victory, but they will continue to ignore them as long as they can. They are setting the bar higher than this and the real question is will the middle be wiling to accept these facts as reasons to quit.