As we prepare to hear reports from General Petraus and Ambassador Crocker this week the NYT has done some of its own reporting. These interactive NYT pages show the progress made, or not, in Baghdad over the last few years and are excellently assembled. The majority of the troop surge was focused on Baghdad and how things changed in the capital city are worth long consideration. From reading though the various stories from the different neighborhoods in Baghdad it seems to me that while the city as a whole is better off, but the surge had little to do with it. Frankly, the squashing of the sunni resistance throughout the city went on last summer, so the Shia's lived out a decent year.
Then a long one that reports on the "view from the ground." Worth considering. What more can the U.S. do for Iraq? Perhaps we'll hear tomorrow.
