Having had time to review the testimony of General Patraeus and Amb. Crocker I have to ask just what was all the fuss. He told us exactly what we expected because it’s the logical step forward in the war. First, let’s go with a little MSM reaction from the WAPO:

“If Gen. David H. Petraeus has his way, tens of thousands of U.S. troops will be in Iraq for years to come.

Iraq’s armed forces are improving, Petraeus told Congress yesterday. Overall violence is down. Sunnis are turning against al-Qaeda in Iraq, and many Baghdad neighborhoods are more peaceful. Political reconciliation, said Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, who testified alongside the general, is a now-visible light at the end of the tunnel. But the two men offered no clear pathway or timeline to reach the end.

Petraeus and Crocker have long complained that the Washington clock — with congressional demands that the time has come for Iraqis to take over their security and reconcile their political differences — is running far faster than the one in Baghdad. Yesterday, they tried to slow Washington down.

“The process will not be quick,” Crocker emphasized. “It will be uneven, punctuated by setbacks as well as achievements, and it will require substantial U.S. resolve and commitment. There will be no single moment at which we can claim victory; any turning point will likely only be recognized in retrospect.”

Judging by the relatively mild congressional reaction in a joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, Petraeus and Crocker may well succeed this week in deflecting Democratic demands to bring the troops home sooner rather than later. They are likely to face tougher questioning — and stiffer challenges to the emerging trends they described — from two Senate committees today. But by the time President Bush speaks to the nation later this week, September’s much-anticipated battle over Iraq policy may be all but over.”

Basically there was nothing for the Democrats to argue with. On the security front there had been positive - but tentative gains, and the same with political front. The sum total is that progress has been made, but for it to continue this is no time to pull back now. There are serious concerns I have with the establishment of the military forces in Iraq, but for god’s sake 210 years after Valley Forge we had Tail Hook, these things take time.

It’s only been four and half years and we’re expecting them to rock steady and that’s just not the way it works on the ground. This isn’t “candy coating”, it’s based on experience training such troops. Still we need to excelerate the training. I’ve been for opening a training facility here in the US possibly Bragg or Campbell and train them there and then send them back to the field. This would be most advantageous in that our training facilities here are much more indepth and it would also remove the distractions on the ground there.

Again, the larger story yesterday didn’t have to do with Patraeus and Crocker but with the Democrats and Moveon.org and just where they are going to go from here. They are nearly to a man and woman sold out to these nutbag far left organizations and you won’t see this change even after yesterday’s events. It’s going to be a long time before the they can shake the spectre of “clowns” being dragged away screaming obsentities from the hearing.

But the long and short of it as I said before is that no matter what the antiwar far left wants we are staying in Iraq because we have to. In spite of desires of “wider withdrawl” it’s simply not going to happen, although Patraeus talked of some reduction by next summer that will depend entirely on the conditions on the ground. Cripes people this is a war, and things change all the time. Could you imagine FDR talking about possible withdrawls in 1943 or 44?

In fact we should be pulling the damn word from the debate right now. We cannot gage this war on “polls”, or what “people feel”. Start having success on the ground and progress in the politics and the people will come around.

As I said before no real American wants to quit and go home and count the sacrifice for nothing. On the same note I understand the frustration people have with an “endless war”.

Nevertheless, we can see real tangible results of our efforts and that should make all those who wish success in Iraq hungry for more.

Here is General Patraeus and Crocker with Brit Hume last night.