Ayers: The clock has been rewound in Iraq

In his most recent column, Anniston (Red) Star editor and publisher H. Brandt Ayers sounds surprisingly upbeat about the situation in Iraq. Though he takes a few gratuitous jabs at the administration, Ayers notes a few facts that have been either ignored or altogether rejected by the defeatist Left.

"Regardless of your views on the Iraq war, the clock restarted with parliamentary elections Thursday. The United States may be able to leave behind a country that could recover, after years of rehabilitation."

"Pairing Vietnam and Iraq is a false comparison...The core difference between the two conflicts is that in Iraq we are fighting on behalf of the overwhelming majority against a deadly minority insurgency. In Vietnam, we supported a corrupt minority government against the majority."

"A phased stand-down, as suggested by [former Kennedy advisors Ted] Sorensen and [Arthur] Schlesinger, could start in the 14 provinces where the insurgents are less menacing, and over time transfer to trained Iraqi troops the four most troublesome provinces."

Funny thing about that last point - a "phased stand-down" may very well have been "suggested by Sorensen and Schlesinger" (see this reprint of their original New York Times piece) - but, a similar strategy is in fact already being pursued and implemented by the administration. If Mr. Ayers doesn't want to give credit where it is due, though, I don't see it as a very big deal. It's just nice to see that a few liberals have begun to offer solutions that do not involve surrender and defeat.