The Associated Press has finally admitted it: the Iraq war is being won.
From the AP yesterday: “The United States is now winning the war that two years ago seemed lost. Limited, sometimes sharp fighting and periodic terrorist bombings in Iraq are likely to continue, possibly for years. But the Iraqi government and the U.S. now are able to shift focus from mainly combat to mainly building the fragile beginnings of peace — a transition that many found almost unthinkable as recently as one year ago.”
But now, we’ve moved into a new phase: “The new phase focuses on training the Iraqi army and police, restraining the flow of illicit weaponry from Iran, supporting closer links between Baghdad and local governments, pushing the integration of former insurgents into legitimate government jobs and assisting in rebuilding the economy.”
Is it me, or hasn’t it been a while now since we’ve been winning. A few weeks ago, Iraqi Prime Minister al Maliki declared the war has been won, and last week embraced a timetable for U.S. withdraw. The AP and much of the media followed Obama around the world like adoring fans last week. When they all got back, they must have come to the realization of how safe it was to travel in and around Iraq.