Harry 'The Surge Has Failed' Reid Facing Dem Revolt On Iraq

By Rick Moran

You know that things are going better in Iraq when even the Democrats begin to acknowledge it.

One senator said U.S. troops are routing out al-Qaida in parts of Iraq. Another insisted President Bush's plan to increase troops has caused tactical momentum. One even went so far on Wednesday as to say the argument could be made that U.S. troops are winning.

These are not Bush-backing GOP die-hards, but Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, Bob Casey and Jack Reed. Even Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, said progress was being made by soldiers.

The suggestions by them and other Democrats in recent days that at least a portion of Bush's strategy in Iraq is working is somewhat surprising, considering the bitter exchanges on Capitol Hill between the Democratic majority and Republicans and Bush. Democrats have long said Bush's policies have been nothing more than a complete failure.

By all reports, al-Qaeda is on the run in many of their former strongholds thanks to sustained and brilliantly executed counter-terrorism operations carried out by American troops and the assistance of formerly hostile Sunni tribesman. And there has been political progress with those same Sunnis as many of the leading tribes and their Sheiks have agreed to lay down their arms and work within the political structure.

What all this adds up to is a heap of political trouble for the Democrats who have staked their electoral fortunes on the probability of failure in Iraq by the Bush Administration. That scenario may well play out in the long term. No one can say at this point. But in the near term, it appears that many Democrats are hedging their bets by recognizing they may well have to give General Petreaus more time to employ his tactics across a broader segment of Iraq. This would mean funding the surge probably through January and perhaps even March, 2008.

This would cause huge problems with the Democratic base - the netroots - who are just coming home from YearlyKos in Chicago where these same lawmakers were being criticized for not bringing the troops home already. One can imagine the howls of rage emenating from lefty blogs if enough Democrats vote to continue the surge.

Of course, the surge is only one part of the equation in Iraq. The government is still paralyzed over major reforms that would help heal the nation's gaping wounds. And until the Iraqi government can get its act together, the military aspect of the surge won't amount to very much in the long term.

Hat Tip: Richard Baehr