Gates in Iraq

With Iraqi security becoming self-sustaining its no wonder he is able to hail developments on the ground:

TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates hailed security improvements in Iraq on Tuesday in a visit that will touch on possible arms sales as the two nations look toward the withdrawal of all U.S. forces.

Gates also will try to help bridge a deep divide between Iraq's ethnic Kurds and majority Arabs that many fear may undermine security gains, a senior U.S. Defense official said.

In his 10th visit to Iraq as U.S. Defense chief, Gates told U.S. troops at the Tallil air base, speaking in blistering 115 degree Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) heat, he was impressed by changes on the ground in Iraq.

He said Iraq's security situation was "amazingly different" to that of his first visit to Iraq in the job in December 2006, at the height of the sectarian bloodshed that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis since the 2003 invasion.Gates is to hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim.

Good work!