it was the Democrats' winning control of Congress in November 2006 that led to the turnaround in Iraq's Sunni Anbar province?
"I welcome the genuine reductions of violence that have taken place, although I would point out that much of that violence has been reduced because there was an agreement with tribes in Anbar province - Sunni tribes - who started to see, after the Democrats were elected in 2006, you know what, the Americans may be leaving soon, and we are going to be left very vulnerable to the Shias. We should start negotiating now. That's how you change behavior."
I don't remember ever hearing from the Iraqi Sunni leadership "Well, since the Democrats won and you guys are on your way out, we guess we'd better talk to the Shiites".
Even those who dispute the role of the surge in the "Anbar Awakening" recognize that al Qaeda atrocities were the initial impetus behind the shift in tribal attitudes - not Democratic victories at the polls.
This naivety in the Democratic Party really scares me. For Obama to try to take credit for that turnaround (or to attribute it to Rep. Rahm Emmanuel's and Sen. Charles Schumer's success in managing the '06 congressional elections) raises questions about his distance from reality.
