MEANWHILE, FIVE YEARS AFTER WWII...:

Iraq's Real Gains (Barham Salih, April 9, 2008, Washington Post)

[A]gainst all odds, Iraq has closed its fifth year of freedom with tangible improvements -- thanks to interlocking steps on security, the economy and national reconciliation.

The transition to freedom has been exceptionally painful for Iraqis and Americans alike. The euphoria of liberation was soon tempered by the chaos of looting and then the tornado of terrorism and sectarianism. While Iraqis have been frustrated, the threats pale in comparison with the horrors that they, and the region, endured under Hussein's tyranny.

When we assumed sovereignty in June 2004, the Iraqi security forces were almost nonexistent. Today our security forces are nearly 600,000 strong, and Iraqis are primarily responsible for half of Iraq's 18 provinces. Through improved Iraqi security capabilities, through the coalition's "surge" of troops and, above all, with support from local communities, the violence that obstructed economic, social and political progress has receded significantly. Anbar, a province once all but lost to terrorists, is now largely denied to them. Similarly, Baghdad is no longer a maelstrom of sectarian bloodshed.

Al-Qaeda, the great spoiler in Iraq and the region, is on the run. Al-Qaeda remains a major threat but is now fighting to survive, not to win. The setback that Iraqis, with coalition assistance, have inflicted could well become the genesis of al-Qaeda's defeat across the Muslim world.

Putting the terrorists and militias on the defensive has enabled some economic progress, and the government's competence is growing. We have managed to reduce annual core inflation from 36 percent at the end of 2006 to 14 percent this month. Iraq now funds almost all of its reconstruction and the lion's share of the costs for its security forces. Budget execution is improving: In 2006 the government spent just 24 percent of its investment budget; in 2007, that spending rose to 63 percent and is on track to be even higher this year. Per capita incomes, which were the equivalent of $465 in 2003, passed $2,100 in 2007. Yesterday, our cabinet endorsed plans for a $5 billion supplementary budget to finance an expedited program of major public works. If approved by Parliament, this will be added to the $14 billion already allocated for investment this year. Further, our economic growth rate is expected to top 7 percent this year.

...it would still be forty years before half of Germany was even liberated.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 9, 2008 11:16 AM