US Mission in Iraq Enters End Game

Camp Bucca on the Iraq and Kuwaiti Border

In other words victory, the Iraqi military is up and running, Democracy is becoming a matter of habit, and the US is now in an advisory role. We have moved so fast so far that we are even thinking about handing over all of our detainees over to the Iraqi government and turning Camp Bucca into a way station out of Iraq. By the way the only time Bush is mentioned in the article is by attacking him for his original opposition to nation building in the 2000 election, yeah they hate him and their coverage is through the prism of Bush derangement.

MAHMUDIYA, Iraq — As he returned to base here after a day patrolling a place once called the Triangle of Death, Capt. Landgrove T. Smith of the First Battalion, 63rd Armor, summarized the war in Iraq in a way that would once have been unthinkable.“We’re in the endgame now,” he said....

The Americans have already closed a dozen bases around Mahmudiya, leaving 1,000 soldiers at the main base, just north of the city. Memorials around the base honor soldiers who died serving here, but there has not been a combat death in the region since last March. At a recent staff meeting, the only casualty reported was a sergeant who had twisted his ankle playing basketball.

And what are we doing now?

We’re drawing down,” said Michael Clayton, an expert from the United States Department of Agriculture who since last fall has overseen the effort to restart the poultry industry around Mahmudiya, providing jobs and income for a beleaguered, oil-dependent economy. Missions like his have an even greater urgency with Mr. Obama’s deadline. “There’s talk even of next year being out of here,” Mr. Clayton said. “The light at the end of the tunnel is there.”

Good Work.