Is the war progressing?(Scan: Short news and commentary)

Last night I spoke to the parents of a soldier who had just been seriously wounded by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, where the Army battalion I command is based. They asked me about the war's progress. (Amidst their anguish over insurgents drawing blood from their son, they were concerned about our mission, our calling as a nation!) I described the advances we've witnessed since arriving, and when I was done my soldier's mother said, "We need to hear this.... We don't get these things on the news!"

Many Americans are asking, "Are we making progress?" Critics back home admit the October 15 election was a success, but note the violence continues.

None of that is news to me. Two days ago, a suicide bomber exploded her car in front of a girls' school in my area just as classes were ending. It's a miracle that the blast wounded none of the Iraqi students and only one soldier lightly.

As I walked the scene, I was disgusted by the grotesque reality of someone blowing herself literally to bits to terrify others. Nothing but unadulterated evil could explain it. This was not Iraqi patriotism at work, or a response to anything our nation has done. This was a fanatic recruited from outside Iraq and put up to a "martyrdom" mission by sadistic planners.

This attack is typical of the stories you hear on the news. And this steady drip of carnage beats on American con sciences. Shown only these acts of evil, citizens ask, "What are we doing there?"

The area around Tarmiya where we operate is a Sunni region home to many former regime members, weapons scientists, military officers, and extremist Wahabis. While Iraq's January 2005 election was a dramatic success nationally, recalcitrant Sunnis in my area (and other parts of the country) tried to disrupt the democratic process by refusing to participate. No one in my zone voted.

Shortly after my second tour began in February, I argued passionately to local leaders that it was in their interest not to obstruct elections, but to compete politically. By summer, the local Sunnis were entering the political process.