IRAQI PROGRESS
Ahmed Chalabi has an op-ed in USA Today saying things are going quite well and urging a quick turnover:
It is difficult for non-Iraqis to understand the significance of the day in July when the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was established. For Iraqis, who have suffered 35 years of totalitarian dictatorship, this was a momentous occasion. For the first time in memory, the people saw an Iraqi governing body that did not consist of a dictator and his clones. They saw a diverse group of men and women reflecting all parts of Iraqi society, united by a firm desire to bring democracy, human rights and the rule of law to Iraq.
***
We have appointed ministers to take charge of the day-to-day administration of Iraq. We have debated and approved budgets for 2003 and 2004. We have reclaimed Iraq’s place in the international community by attending the United Nations General Assembly and the Islamic Conference.
***
We supervised the reopening of Iraq’s schools and universities in very difficult conditions. We are overseeing the restoration of Iraq’s oil sector, where production capacity already has overtaken pre-war levels. We have restored the nationality of millions of Iraqis who had their citizenships stripped by Saddam. We have established a de-Baathification commission that will end the control of Saddam’s Baath Party over all aspects of society. We also have started to track down and return the billions of dollars that he and his cronies hid abroad.
The best way to defeat the forces of terrorism in Iraq is to restore Iraqi sovereignty and empower the people to win back our country. Their desire to have a role in their governance must be respected by holding elections for a commission to write a new democratic constitution. The IGC should be expanded and developed into a provisional government so that Iraqis can share the burden of security and govern their own country while the constitution is drafted.
Iraqis are grateful to the people of the United States for the sacrifices you have made for our freedom. Too many brave citizens of both our countries already have made the ultimate sacrifice. The best way to return security to Iraq now is to return sovereignty to Iraqis quickly.
Stephen Green cites this NYT chart
as further evidence of progress.
The only bit of really bad news, is that our own troops losses are slowly mounting — and it doesn’t yet include results for November such as our downed helicopter.
Check back in six months. If that line isn’t trending downward by then, then we either have too few troops, or a new Lebanon on our hands.
I’m hoping that in six months we have a whole lot more troops, most of whom are Iraqi. We shall see.
