Iraq, the charts and a little historical perspective!

The guys at Power Line have lots of charts about Progress In Iraq:

"You'd almost think the guy who devised and implemented the strategy should be the Man of the Year."

Of course, Iraq is more than charts or putting the general's face on TIME magazine.

It is about the Iraqi people who are clearly moving over to our side and coming together.

Bruce Gilley is an assistant professor of political studies at Queen's University. He wrote In Iraq's success, Bush's vindication:

"Iraq's democracy may be failing some congressional benchmarks, but it is succeeding beyond appropriate expectations that account for Iraq's cruel legacies, its income level, and its short lifespan."

In previous posts, we have supported the Iraq War because it was in the national interest of the US. Iraq is a battle in the war on terror.

Like any other war, this conflict had its tough moments, i.e. the winter of 1863 for Lincoln or the spring of '44 for FDR.

For Bush, it was 2006 when sectarian violence unleashed in Iraq. 2007 was a turnaround year, as the charts and graphs clearly show.

However, there is no magic bullet to fix Iraq anymore than there was to fix the nations of Europe after WW2.

Christmas Eve, 1947 by Donald F. Burton recalls a winter 60 years ago when Germany was recovering from WW2.

In 1946, LIFE Magazine ran a cover entitled Americans Are Losing the Victory in Europe! Pres. Truman lost the House and Senate in the 1946 mid-term elections because the post-war brought serious challenges abroad and at home!

Like Lincoln or FDR-Truman, Bush did not quit and kept looking for victory. Bush deserves a lot of credit for keeping his eye on the goal. (The Resolute President)

We are not quite finished in Iraq. Yet, we are headed in the right direction and a little more patience, and historical perspective, is needed.

It would help if some Dems would stop playing politics, too! (Heads in the Sand on Iraq Progress)