Tom Piwowar wrote:
If you remember, in 2006, Iraq was at its worst. Highest US and Iraqi
casualties, general concensus (at least on the left) that Iraq was in a
civil war. Harry Reid stated that the war was lost. The left was
vehement about giving up on this mess and leaving the Iraqis to just
fight it out among themselves. They were horrified of the Bush proposal
to escalate the war with a surge and the counter-insurgency policy of
Gen. Betrayus. Obama tried to stop the surge with the Act cited. And at
that time, he was with the left on wanting a date certain to withdraw,
the idea being that it would put pressure on the Iraqi government to
take charge of their own affairs.
Iraq did not start to calm down until we started seriously discussing a
definite withdrawal date. Doing that changed the discussion. It made it
clear to the Iraquis that we were not intending to occupy them forever.
This changed many Iraqui's attitudes.
Bush also got rid of the nutty ideologue Rumsfeld and replaced him with
the rational Gates. Having someone in charge who is rational is a big
plus.
The radicals also overplayed their hand. The Iraquis grew madder at them
than they were at the US. They figured out that working with the US they
could get rid of the radicals and then the US woud leave.
It took a while for rationality to take hold. If only we could be so
successful with the cons/neocons.
The American military also threw wads of hundred dollar bills at the
"insurgents".
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