Baghdad, Iraq (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Some encouraging news coming out of Iraq, exactly one year since President Bush ordered an extra 30-thousand troops there as part of the so-called "surge."
A U.S. general says that the country's western province of Anbar, which had been a hotbed for Sunni insurgents, will be returned to Iraqi control in March.
He says it's time for the handover because levels of violence have dropped significantly and Iraqi security forces are now capable of taking over.
So far, 9 out of 18 provinces are back under Iraqi control. It's a process that's gone slower than what the Bush administration had initially hoped for, mainly due to the challenge of getting the Iraqi police and army strong enough.
Even though Anbar province will return to Iraqi control, U.S. forces will still stay there as partners with Iraq's security forces. Nevertheless, it's a positive sign when you consider that as recently as 18 months ago, Anbar was the stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq.
And there are other positive signs: the number of U.S. casualties has been declining for months. In December, 23 troops were killed, that's compared to a death toll of 112 in December 2006. This isn't to say we're out of the woods yet: 9 U.S. troops lost their lives in just two days this week.
While there have been military successes, progress on the Iraqi political front has been slow to non-existent.
The progress being reported in Iraq may be responsible for this: While an overwhelming majority of Americans remain opposed to the war, it is no longer the number issue on people's minds. It has been replaced by the economy.
Here’s my question to you: Has your opinion of the war in Iraq changed?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Serena writes:
There were more troops killed in Iraq last year than any other. One blip and things are suddenly better due to the troop surge? How gullible do you think we are? The whole war has been smoke and mirrors except for the steady flow of dead and wounded. The Iraqi people are slowly being executed along the way.
Dot writes:
My opinion has not changed one iota! The war was unnecessary, empiricist, immoral, ill-conceived and ill-implemented. If the do-nothing Congress cannot bring themselves to impeach this president and vice-president, then I hope someone will have the guts to bring criminal charges for crimes against humanity and crimes against citizens of the U.S.
William writes:
Jack, No, my mind has not changed on Iraq. I was against it from the start and still am. We were led into this war through lies and deceit. No matter how well the war may be going it doesn't make it right, just or moral.
Garrick from Atlanta, Georgia writes:
At the end of the day, the Iraqis are not going to live and play nicely with one another whether U.S. troops are there or not. I'm still disheartened that Americans are giving their lives for a cause that Iraqis do not even embrace. It's disgraceful. Each additional day US combat troops are in Iraq, I become more disappointed in the leadership in Washington.
George from Kansas City, Missouri writes:
No. The Iraq war and our economic state are most definitely linked. If we are spending one trillion dollars on a war we don't need to fight, it's poor economics. Plain and simple.