While I am still enjoying the Sullivanche the debate about Iraq gains in intensity. Of course, the anti-war crowd is decrying the Bush administration and dusting off the Vietnam and quagmire theories, that hasn’t changed. On the other hand, those that have supported the war, like myself, seem to have fallen into two groups. There is a group arguing that everything is on track and there’s nothing we should criticize Bush for, and one group questioning the strategy precisely because they want the US-led coalition to succeed. Debating the situation and the next steps requires a thorough understanding of the situation on the ground, which isn’t all that clear and the news this week just wasn’t encouraging. But there are optimistic voices on the ground, and via Captain’s Quarters a Major in the Marines is updating us from operational HQ in Baghdad:

So, you may hear analysts and prognosticators on CNN, ABC and the like in the next few days talking about how bleak the situation is here in Iraq, but from where I sit, it’s looking significantly better now than when I got here. The momentum is moving in our favor, and all Americans need to know that, so please, please, pass this on to those who care and will pass it on to others. It is very demoralizing for us here in uniform to read & hear such negativity in our press. It is fodder for our enemies to use against us and against the vast majority of Iraqis who want their new government to succeed.

Agreed. But negative reports are coming from different directions, not just the biased media and in many cases the reports are just incomplete. Are we getting the right information on which we can base sound opinions? If staunch Bush supporters question his strategy then they are probably not just jumping on whatever it is that CNN and ABC throw in front of us, note that many Iraqi bloggers are not very excited about what’s going on either. There’s a legitimate question as to why the country after almost 18 months is still not pacified.

In any case there is an acknowledgment from the Bush team that things are not easy but that all efforts are being made to prevail. Colin Powell:

And we are starting to work in Samarra, Fallujah and the other cities in the Sunni Triangle where there is too strong an insurgent presence.

This one sentence tells you an awful lot. That leaves on other issue on the table. Is the election interfering with decision making? There is scant evidence for the latter but it is too tempting for many, both left and right, to probe the idea and ask the questions why things are not moving faster. Power Line calls the suggestion nefarious, but in my mind it remains a valid question.

It’s Saturday and we can digest the weekend papers and let the facts sink in. The intensity of the Rathergate discussion will probably wane next week and we can only hope that that will allow others to jump into this important debate.