Then--Sunni vs. Shia civil war that cannot be stopped.

Now--Intra Sectarian Shia on Shia civil war that cannot be stopped.

Then--Shared Sacrifice must be asked of all Americans.

General David Petraeus will be testifying before Congress today about the effects of the troop surge. 

To give the public and interested parties a more tangible view of the effects of the troop surge, I have condensed one of my documentaries, 'Anbar Awakens ' and placed it on YouTube.  You can watch it below in two parts. 

The first steps of the Anbar Awakening preceded the troop surge by several months, but without the surge it is unlikely it would have held firm and expanded. 

More importantly, the success of the Awakening combined with the troop surge to spread concerned citizens groups and neighborhood watch groups through large swaths of Iraq. 

Taking a page from John Kerry's tactics, IVAW started Winter Soldier II today.

I am sure this sequel, like Hollywood productions, will not be as good as the original and, in manner reminiscient of Ghengis Kahn, trample upon the facts and the truth. 

These self-styled 'Winter Soldiers' are a far cry from Thomas Paine who in the darkest hours of the American Revolution argued that the cause of liberty and democracy should be continued . 

Earlier this week I pointed out Senator Barack Obama once proposed having all combat forces out of Iraq by March 31st 2008.

When asked, "In light of the success of the surge and the mood of young Iraqis as portrayed by the New York Times, does Sen. Obama still stand by his desire to have all U.S. Combat forces out of Iraq in next few weeks?"

Well, I have my answer from one of his foreign policy advisors :

"He will, of course, not rely on some plan that he's crafted as a presidential candidate or a U.S. Senator,"

More than a year ago Sen. Barack Obama proposed a withdrawal of U.S. Combat forces from Iraq by....4 weeks from today.

Back then I wrote , "When beset with setbacks, when forced to modernize, the zeal for jihad and expansion waned.  Muslims are still human and thus subject to the impulse jump on and off the bandwagon."

And now, from the New York Times , "After almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach."

In light of the success of the surge and the mood of young Iraqis as portrayed by the New York Times, does Sen. Obama still stand by his desire to have all U.S. Combat forces out of Iraq in next few weeks?

Last year I posted this stating that, if I still advised political candidates, I would advise them to pursue victory .  

Victory in Iraq is not only an essential policy, it is sound politics. 

It appears that my argument has stood the one-year-test-of-time .