The Surge Made the Difference

An excellent report on the Yahoo Home Page this morning. Major Gen. Rick Lynch fills us in on progress made:

Lynch said while there are still Iraqi political problems at the
national level, at the grass roots there is a growing movement to end the
fighting and get on with life. His division has recorded a 74 percent drop in
monthly attacks, an 81 percent drop in civilian casualties and an 85 percent
drop in coalition casualties since May 2007.
He said that the recent progress
could still be lost, but that U.S. commanders finally had a good feel for the
battlefield and how to defeat the insurgency.
"We've always said that the
only way we are going to win this counterinsurgency fight in Iraq is through the
people of Iraq," he said. "If they perceive security, they are going to continue
to move in the right direction."

Please read the whole story and also this good one from Time titled "Why the Surge Worked".