The Surge Has Failed, We are told

The enemy will be glad to hear this, but what do are brave and brilliant troops on the front lines say? From the LA Times via the Tank:

Under a sweltering Iraqi sky, [Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis,
commanding general of Marine Forces Central Command] asked for questions from
his troops.
Many were reluctant, but Marine Lance Cpl. Jack Kessel, 19, of
Raleigh, N.C., stepped forward. Something had been gnawing at him as he and his
buddies go about the business of winning hearts and minds in al-Anbar province:
“How are we supposed to fight a war when people back home say we’ve already
lost?”

...Mattis told the Marines to believe their own eyes rather
than news accounts about who is winning the war. Don’t be discouraged by
politicians and pundits who haven’t been to Iraq: “Don’t hold it against them.
The only reason they have that freedom of speech is because you’ll fight for
it.”

This is too gracious in my opinion, but that's how our troops are. They give our lives and we safely here at home can't even spare a little patience. But Strategypage says the Surge is working:

There are fewer bombs going off in Baghdad, so the bombers are
trying to make each one count more. Thus, in the last week, three truck bombs
took out bridges and overpasses, seeking to make life miserable for an many
Iraqis as possible. This is because, despite all the dismal news from Iraq, what
doesn't get reported is that most of the country is quiet, and there has been
4-5 percent growth in the overall economy for the past four years.

What's interesting, 60+ years ago many were saying the same about the D-Day landings, as our troops became bogged down for months in the French hedgerows, and Churchill fretted that it may become a return to the trench warfare of the First World War. Ernie Pyle had a different view when he declared: "...we've been in it two months and some of us feel that this is the two months that broke the German Army in the west."

Breaking: Reid labels Gen. Pace 'incompetent', disparges Gen Petraeus to liberal bloggers. Scott Johnson at Powerline states:

"No depth too low to stoop for partisan victory, no price too great
to be paid for defeat of the United States."

I agree!

Update From FoxNews: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday that he told liberal bloggers last week that he thinks outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace is "incompetent."
Reid also disparaged Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of Multinational Forces in Iraq."

That settles it. Past time for Reid to go.