"The Surge Worked" Ctd

Gregg Carlstrom attempts to convince me everything is ok:

The reality is that the Iraqi Security Forces are improving, as Michael Hanna makes clear in a smart new Foreign Affairspiece. They still have a long way to go, of course, and Iraq willremain plagued by horrific violence for years; it's debatable how muchcredit Maliki himself deserves for improved security; and thenon-security sectors of the Iraqi government are another storyentirely. But Allawi's sharp criticism of Maliki yesterday (عربي) should be treated as political posturing, not evidence that the Maliki government is a failure.

Michael Cohen brings Afghanistan into the debate.