If CBS's Katie Couric is beginning to believe the surge is working, it seems that even the most liberal media member could be convinced.
With that in mind, Couric was Bob Schieffer's guest on Sunday's "Face the Nation," and after spending some time touring Iraq with Gen. David Petraeus, felt the General will be quite optimistic when he reports to Congress next week.
In fact, after Schieffer asked what Petraeus would say to lawmakers upon his return to Washington, Couric seemed quite impressed with what the General had showed her during her tour (video available here):
Well, Bob, I think he's going to talk a lot about Anbar province, which is west of Baghdad, and an Anbar awakening if you will. He took me to Fallujah, which really he believes is a crowning achievement for U.S. forces in Iraq and a role model if you will.
Fallujah, if you remember Bob, was one of the deadliest cities in this country with terrible fighting. Those four contractors were murdered there. And U.S. forces actually were ordered to retreat from that city back in 2004. But what happened is al Qaeda came in, and tribal leaders realized they did not want to live under a brutal al Qaeda regime.
So, they enlisted the help of U.S. soldiers and U.S. troops because they realized they could not fight al Qaeda alone. So, suddenly these former enemies had a common enemy, worked together, and now Fallujah is relatively calm, reconstruction efforts are under way, and as I said, it is really being considered a crowning achievement. And this is just one city in Anbar province. Ramadi is another example of that as well, where Sunnis and U.S. forces are working together to really a great effect.
Pretty shocking, wouldn't you agree? But there was more, for after Schieffer asked, "Did you get that he is going to tell the president that he believes these extra troops, this so-called surge, is working, and that we have to leave it in place for a while," Couric responded:
I definitely got that impression. I think he concedes there's certainly areas of Iraq that are really difficult and are true trouble spots. Al Qaeda in the north, Shiite militias in the south of, of Baghdad. Still a lot of insurgency, and still a lot of sectarian violence even in Baghdad. But, I believe he thinks these are not just pockets of success, what I mentioned about Fallujah and Ramadi.
What he sees is a trend. And what he told me the trend is definitely going up rather than down, and to continue the progress he believes is being made so far, that the surge must continue, and the U.S., a full U.S. presence should be here. But he did talk about geometry on the battlefield, Bob, and about possibly drawing down some troops. But he thinks that certainly in these areas where the surge was needed, that it needs to continue.
Once again, if one of the most liberal newscasters on television is reporting a positive view by the General, others are sure to follow.
