In Iraq: A road to victory?

Remember hearing a lot about how dangerous was the highway road from Baghdad to the airport? Drivers sped along it in fear of their lives. Frequent terrorist attacks on vehicles were a sign of the insurgency's success and American failure.

We haven't heard much about the road lately, have we? And we certainly haven't heard that it's now much safer, with traffic heavy and attacks rare.

But Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette, the indispensable collection point for reports and analysis of Iraq war news, fills us in:

The Washington Post describes conditions along Baghdad's airport road. Dubbed "Route Irish" by the US military, the highway connecting Baghdad Airport to the city proper - and the rest of Iraq - is a crucial artery for the nation. It's importance can't be overstated - and the terrorists know it.

Why is the highway much safer now? Greyhawk says "many factors contributed to that success - but the one that can't be overemphasized is the presence of trained Iraqi troops on the street." He cites this from the Post:

The Iraqi soldiers, with a handful of U.S. troops by their side, walked the dusty dirt roads of the neighborhood. Weapons drawn, they searched alleys and courtyards. But mostly, they just walked, calling out greetings to Iraqis gathered outside their homes.
<...>
Iraqi soldiers had been influential in helping control the neighborhood, keeping the potential attackers from using side streets to reach the airport road. "We are Iraqis, and we know strangers from their faces," (an Iraqi soldier) said. "We can stop them, and we know if they lie to us. The Americans don't know."

Greyhawk continues:

Pay attention to that "strangers" quote - it's not the locals who are the enemy.

From my own time in Iraq I can attest to this, the battle for Route Irish was significant, and securing it is a victory on two fronts. On one level it's battle won and ground gained in a very different kind of war. But it's not just the ground gained that matters. It's the successful deployment of Iraqi forces that makes this a victory on a second front for the good guys. The key to a successful return from Iraq for coalition forces is the assumption of responsibility for security by the Iraqis - and real progress is being made.

And efforts are ongoing to make sure those gains aren't lost. Back in the States, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is readying to return to Iraq in February. The training they are getting isn't how to fight - it's how to train the Iraqi forces.

Greyhawk links to an article about the Marines's training.

Are American and Iraqi successes in making the highway safer and bringing more Iraqis into the battle against the terrorists pointing to the road to victory?
Yes, provided the American public has the good sense and fortitude to support our troops in Iraq until the Iraqis can take over the fight to bring democracy to their country.

READERS NOTE: Greyhawk has updated his post including information about a recent incorrect CBS 60 Minutes story about the airport highway.

Will somebody please help the 60 Minutes folks overcome their Kinko's Copying Machine syndrome.