Opinion: Dust-Up: Back to Baghdad

Americans should be pleased with the results of the surge. Iraq’s steadily improving security environment gives the United States a lot of flexibility. Having crippled Al Qaeda, we can now pursue simultaneous efforts to improve Iraq’s political process, not only at the central level, but also at the regional and local levels. By destroying Al Qaeda, the United States has become the indispensable power in Iraq. If the American public and their leaders keep their nerve, the United States will be perfectly positioned to wield considerable and positive influence throughout Iraq and the broader Middle East over the long term.

No one can dispute that the numbers of deaths of both Iraqi civilians and American soldiers are down from their highest level. Nevertheless, overall levels of violence remain dangerously high — 2007 is the deadliest year for our troops since President Bush began this unnecessary war of choice in 2003. These declines may simply be the dust settling from the latest phase in Iraq’s struggles for power. As the most recent National Intelligence Estimate noted, declines in violence — particularly in Baghdad — are in large part due to population displacements. In other words, sectarian cleansing continued even while U.S. troop numbers reached their highest levels since the invasion. Independent refugee organizations like the International Organization for Migration and the Iraqi Red Crescent Society report that the number of Iraqis displaced by the conflict doubled since the start of the surge, adding to millions already pushed out of their homes from 2003 to 2006.