A Catholic Soldier Gives an Update On Iraq Security Situation

Our Catholic American Serviceman in Iraq gives a optimistic update on the security situation.
Soldiering On -Journeys through Rome, Iraq, and Home. has Security Updates .

I wanted to commented on this part:

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will soon be visiting the United States. In the Iraqi Press he has been trumpeting the post-30JUN "Out of the Cities" as a victory, which he should, but he has hurt some feelings with his purposeful lack of attention to American sacrifices. Part of that anger toward him is understandable, but he is a Politician. Politicians ALWAYS say certain things to certain constituencies, it's a fact of life. While the average Iraqi is grateful for what CF have done in removing Saddam, they are also more than ready for Iraq to stand on its own two feet and that requires Maliki to say what he says. However, to the US audience, he will be providing a different message: "We have [achieved] a combined victory against terrorism, and there have been sacrifices from both sides that brought fruitful results and democracy to Iraq". He couldn't be more right. T.E. Lawrence warned his British supporters that "It is better that the Arab do things tolerably, than we do it perfectly". It is better that the Iraqis lead in security and express their independence now that they are capable of it, then those responsibilities falling upon us.

There is a lot of wisdom here. Also on the American side we should be be careful of the pot calling the kettle black here. Besides military blogs on the scene or people like Yon or Totten I think the fact that brave Iraqi sacrifices have not been highlighted enough. They are our allies. So it sort of goes both ways here.