Ghosts

clipped from www.nypost.com I'VE listed the key problems that may lie ahead, but this visit to Iraq further convinced me that we're on a promising track, security-wise: * Al Qaeda, America's enemy, has suffered a catastrophic strategic defeat and a humiliation - rejected by its own kind - that will resound in the Muslim world. * That hotbed of insurgency, Anbar Province, has largely come over to our side. * The surge strategy is bringing peaceful conditions to ever more Iraqi neighborhoods - and street-level Iraqis are grateful. They don't want us to leave. * Despite Iran's growing involvement, we've limited Tehran's effectiveness - thus far. Genuine support of our troops and their mission would be the greatest possible "combat multiplier." Instead, the campaign bellowing back home means that even our most-steadfast Iraqi partners feel compelled to prepare for two alternative futures - one if we stay, and another if we abandon them.