Situation in Iraq

As I've said many times before here on this Blog, much of what I understand about the situation in Iraq comes from the media. I do, however, maintain contact with Soldiers on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but that's mainly in relation to them providing articles to me for publication in Army Engineer magazine. To keep better informed, I read numerous press releases daily from the military, and browse through many websites which offer various views on what's going on. Yesterday, President Bush said in effect that now is a momentous time for the Iraqi government, given their recent action to use greater force to curtail insurgent and civil unrest in Basra, Baghdad and elsewhere in the country. Things have been going pretty well since early last summer, and some have been guardedly predicting that significant U.S. troop reductions might be possible by the end of 2008. I agree with the President that now is a significant time for the Iraqi government. If they can achieve success utilizing the skills we've been working so hard to train them to do over the past several years, then that signals major progress. If they do not, then it's obviously going to become increasingly more difficult to sustain the support of the American public, especially during the latter stages of an election year.