• "We did witness and see the fruits of the surge, because our division and 1st -- correction -- 2nd Brigade and 3rd Brigade of our division were both surge brigades, and the division was a surge division into Central, Multinational Division Central."  
• "So what that allowed was the combat power for us, with our Iraqi security force counterparts, like Abdul Amir, to be able to execute operations distributed throughout the area of operation. So we conducted an operation. We had sufficient forces to allow us to occupy patrol base and joint security stations, with the population, distributed throughout the area of Multinational Division Central. And what allowed the population to see was, "Wow, they're here to secure us, and now we understand that security is for real." And they provided intelligence, and as well you started to see the governance and economic systems grow." 
• "And what that did was bought time for the Iraqi security forces that had developed over time, in contact with the enemy, to start to increase their capacity and development, because we had increased force capability." 
• 
  
"So as the surge forces start to come out, the Iraqi security forces are at a level to be able to handle that and fill that gap that was -- it was -- is not really a gap that was created, because they're moving out, because it is filled with the security force capability of the Iraqi army and Iraqi police and their increased capability." 
• "So we see strong impacts from the surge in our area, and that's what we see from our perspective. Now that wasn't necessarily in our AO, our area of operation, because we were not a surge brigade. But it was in our division, and we witnessed some of that."
• "One thing that I would like to add to that is that what it allowed us to do -- although we were not a surge brigade, it allowed us to concentrate in our area as opposed to trying to fill the area that was filled by surge. So it was -- the savings of force were allowed to be applied elsewhere where needed, and that increased our security capability."

Obama has also pointed out that the surge would not contribute in any way to the political stability of Iraq. Let's hear from General Amir:

• "Our security plan for the election is, we have in Babil 23 registration sites to prepare for the incoming election, provincial election." 
• "A lot of people going to these sites register their names, the Iraqi army and Iraqi police conducting a joint plan with the support of the coalition forces to secure the sites and protect the populace."
• "But the election sites are secure. And we are preparing for any kind of threats. And we will secure and make all the sites safe, for the people to go to these sites and vote. We don't think that all these attacks will affect or have any kind of effect, against the Sons of Iraq (SOI) program or against the election in general. On the other hand, the SOI leaders are running through this election. And they are forming their own political parties." 
• "The Sunnis in Northern Babil have a great desire to share and enter this election because they feel the mistake they commit in the past, when they did not share in this election. But this time, they have a great desire to enter this election so they could get more seats and representatives, in the provincial councils and in all the local governments."
• "All the people want to share in this incoming election."   

Conclusion
The last point should wake us up to the fact that change is taking place in Iraq, whether we deny the facts or not. Let us hope that change is something that Barack Obama can deliver to the American people. His words thus far indicate a military leader that will second guess the advice of the best fighting force in the world and play politics to sway constituents according to polls. If the surge had not been approved, as championed by Obama, imagine how many more dead American and coalition soldiers and Iraqi citizens there would be today.