Surprisingly, readers of the New York Times this morning were treated to this op-ed piece, which says we are winning the war in Iraq. I expect that President Bush is getting the same message from his commanders in the field, and Congress will get that same message in September directly from General Petraeus. That should stiffen the resolve of Republicans in Congress just enough to prevent passage of any withdrawal or timeline plans. The big question is whether or not it will make a big enough difference out in the public as we head into the election year of 2008. As always, we are held hostage by uncontrollable events. Will the military situation continue to improve through the second half of this year and on into 2008? Will the Iraqis begin to make the necessary compromises to diminish the sectarian violence (as it appears that the Al Qaeda thugs have already forced Sunni Iraqis to make compromises with the Americans...a boon to the effort of defeating them)? If the situation continues to improve on into next year, the political situation here at home will also change dramatically. Right now, I still believe the American people want to get out, by and large, but I also believe the majority don't want to lose. These seemingly contradictory feelings will drive the electorate in November of 2008, and the results, at this time, are unpredictable.

Apparently, someone on the inside of a Congressional briefing about a secret operation by American forces with Turkey to deal with Kurdish insurgents on their border with Iraq decided to leak the general facts to Robert Novak, no doubt in an effort to try and stop the operation. I'm not sure how I feel about the political situation, as I value the alliance with Turkey, but I also believe the Kurds are our best friends in Iraq, but I certainly despise the person or persons who leaked the operation to Novak. I wish they could be caught and prosecuted.