Here’s a compelling piece by James Pethokoukis at the Capital Commerce blog on the U.S. News & World Report site.

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“By every metric that we measure violence in Iraq, there has been a dramatic improvement from where things were before the surge,” Morrell said. “I’ll just point to one, and that is [that] in July of last year, we had 79 U.S. [servicemembers killed in action] in Iraq. We have four thus far this month.”

The dramatic security gains have provided room for political and economic successes. “You name it, it is happening in Iraq,” Morrell said. “Do you want to talk about political gains? We’ve had basically all the major benchmark legislation passed.”

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Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, are redeploying back to Fort Stewart, Ga., this month.

The 2nd BCT deployed in May 2007 as the fifth surge brigade. Its mission was to block accelerants from entering Baghdad, protect the local population, defeat sectarian violence, continue to increase the capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces, foster local governance and economic systems, and to set the conditions for long-term self-reliance.

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The electricity gains have been possible because violence in Iraq has dropped to its lowest level in more than four years. The change has been driven by the 2007 buildup of American forces, the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and Iraqi government crackdowns against Sunni extremists and Shiite militias, among other factors.

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The last of the five Army brigades to deploy with the “troop surge” in Iraq will return in July after a 13-month deployment, during which soldiers detained more than 800 terrorist suspects and helped foster Iraqi self-governance.

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Members of the Obeidi tribe in Maderiyah, 25 kilometers south of Baghdad, have always relied on one another through difficult times.

Now, thanks to successful implementation of the counterinsurgency policy, the tribe can also rely on Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, for help.

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These are the men and women that General Cardon talked about with me, and this story demonstrates the results of their hard work. Now they’re coming home. Well done!

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A mix of force, good governance and economic stimuli has resulted in a turnaround for an area in Iraq that once was a hotbed of Sunni and Shiite insurgents.
The 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team is completing a 15-month tour as part of Multinational Division Center, and the unit commander, Army Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., spoke to Pentagon reporters yesterday about the deployment.

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Have you read this in your paper? Nope. The third of five surge brigades will be coming home in the next several weeks. Umm… misson accomplished!

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Knocking on doors; greeting the family; talking about politics, the neighbors or just the weather over a hot cup of overly sweet chai – a pleasant side of operations for Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers who have operated in the southeastern Rashid District for the past eight months.

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