Heroic patience.(AT WAR)

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS and Amb. Ryan Crocker's testimony on Capitol Hill was anti-climactic compared with the Iraq hearings of last September. No one called Petraeus a traitor, and Democrats were more willing to accept the fact of security gains on the ground than to dismiss it as requiring a "willing suspension of disbelief" (Hillary Clinton's words last fall).

The press coverage emphasized how solemn Petraeus and Crocker were. Both have reacted to the overpromising and consequent loss of credibility on the part of the administration and top generals in years past by keeping their public statements cautious and sober. Along with the grim demeanors and the frequent disclaimers that progress is "fragile and reversible," the two brought extraordinary tidings of success: al-Qaeda in Iraq on the run, security improvements across wide swathes of the country, and the beginnings of political movement (the Iraqi parliament has scheduled provincial elections for October 1 and passed several other major pieces of legislation).

War critics said the two had not been able to describe what would constitute success in Iraq. It has in truth been outlined so many times, by them and by others, that only the willfully obtuse could miss it: a stable, democratic Iraq that is able to defend itself, at peace with its neighbors, and allied with the U.S. in the War on Terror. What Petraeus would not do is say when we will be able to draw down further after the surge ends this summer. He correctly insisted that any determination of troop levels will depend on conditions at the time. President Bush accepted his recommendation for a period of "consolidation and evaluation" in July that would keep troop levels at roughly 140,000.

Democrats returned again and again to the Iraqi government's operation against Moqtada al-Sadr's forces in Basra. It just happened to be the fresh bad news (or seeming bad news) at hand. The dust from operations there and in Sadr City has yet to settle. We know that the offensive was launched precipitously and that roughly a thousand Iraq security personnel deserted or underperformed. But it was Sadr who backed down and tried to declare a "ceasefire"; the Iraqi army now controls the city's key port; and Iraqi troops continue to conduct sweeps throughout Basra (and in the process have freed a CBS reporter taken hostage). All of this is important and encouraging. Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared himself against the Iranian-backed "special groups" of ...