4.4 million Iraqi displaced from their homes. read this Iraqi dentists blog.

But a point I’ve made several times is still germane: we need Iraq to be peaceful with less troops. Having it seem more peaceful with more troops will give us a false sense of accomplishment.

Deal would have U.S. troops out of Iraq by 2012

It’s a timeline but certain conditions would have to be met and I’m sure we would be prepared to go back in on short notice in need be. This seems reasonable.

I just don’t buy into your notion that Iraq is a mess, or that we broke it.

I think we fixed it and Obama (if, God forbid, he’s elected) will be the benficiary of a more stable middle east with an increased US presence and a large, friendly (at least quasi) democracy because of what Mr. Bush & Co. have accomplished.

The left argues that if you don’t set a date, the Iraqi’s are not motivated to take control for themselves.

The right argues that if you set a date, the enemy just sits and waits and regroups until that date.

There is truth in both views. The fact is that I believe the Iraqi’s are motivated to take control on their own just so they can have their country back 100% and get US troops out. I don’t blame them. I think most Iraqis realize we are still needed for the time being.

But wheneverthese debates come up, I always ask, when can out troops come home from Japan, or Germany? They are still there aren’t they. I would argue that a US troop presence in the middle east is a good thing indefinitel;y as long as we aren’t getting killed.

The surge, clearly, has worked, at least for now: violence, measured in the number of attacks against Americans and Iraqis each week, has dropped by 80 percent in the country since early 2007, according to figures the general provided. Civilian deaths, which peaked at more than 100 a day in late 2006, have also plunged. Car and suicide bombings, which stoked sectarian violence, have fallen from a total of 130 in March 2007 to fewer than 40 last month. In July, fewer Americans were killed in Iraq — 13 — than in any month since the war began.

The result, now visible in the streets, is a calm unlike any the country has seen since the American invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in April 2003. The signs — Iraqi families flooding into parks at sundown, merchants throwing open long-shuttered shops — are stunning to anyone who witnessed the country’s implosion in 2005 and 2006.

Sorry Michael, the surge worked. Iraq is not “a mess.” As the above article notes the gains made are fragile and will require an ongoing presence of US troops for a while but our success is undeniable, even by the NY Times. You look at the situation and see failure. I look at the situation and see a tremendous success. Unfortunately it appears that success in Iraq does not fit your narative.