Sure sign of the COIN's success in Iraq

ARTICLE: Big Oil Firms Ready to Sign Agreements With Iraq, By Ernesto Londoño and Simone Baribeau, Washington Post, Friday, June 20, 2008; Page A12

Outside oil companies starting to show up in places beyond Kurdistan. Now the economic connectivity gets far more real. The question is how to broaden the social impact.

This is the fundamental goal of Enterra's Development-in-a-Box‚Ñ¢ effort in the K.R.G.

Comments

[Wiredman]

The Surge made this possible.

[Bill C.]

Do we still believe that the best true sign of success re: COIN and the surge will be when a petrochemical sharing agreement is reached -- and that all else is very preliminary and tentative -- until this is achieved?

[lrb]

Unfortunately, some are seeing this as failure, saying this makes the "the case for the Iraq War as a neo-colonial exercise an easier one to defend."(http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/blog/blog.aspx?id=2317)

Of course, they cite Andrew Sullivan for support, never a good sign.

I guess single narratives beat thinking, that's why I left academia!

[Jarrod Myrick]

Bill C.,

point well taken and i think i'll jump up and answer your rhetorical question and say yes because jobs is the exit strategy. there are other significant signs though as well including Sistani's obstinacy vis a vis iran; the math remains terrible but american casualties are way down; basra, especially just after the uk bailed, was nightmarish but has vastly improved; maliki's a much more viable force than sadr; al qaeda's almost universally hated and nearly a nonentity at this point;kurdistan leads and the un's 'a' team's in kirkuk; the revolution of military practices proceeds apace; powell doctrine and vietnam syndrome vanquished; multitude of nation-states contribute to reconstruction; brooks' point today: iraqis now doing a lot of heavy lifting; strikes on iran out of the question w/iraq freshly stitched:don't undo hard-fought gains; sunnis come to the table, it's now in their interest because of the surge and an actual game plan.

obama's best line to date: we must be as careful getting out as we were careless going in. he's no dummy--underestimate this man atyour own peril. he recognizes the momentum and the sudden advantages. can/will these gains be solidified in the comingmonths? can a regional security alliance emerge? why couldn'twe have started w/gates as secdef?