We are winning in Iraq: Refugees returning

Do you want more evidence that we are winning in Iraq? Iraqi refugees are leaving Syria and voting with their feet--by returning to Iraq.

From the Times of London:

Iraqi refugees are returning home in dramatic numbers, concluding that security in Baghdad has been transformed. Thousands have left their refuge in Syria in recent months, according to some estimates.

The Iraqi Embassy is organizing a secure mass convoy from Damascus to Baghdad on Monday for refugees who want to drive back. Embassy notices went up around the Syrian capital yesterday, offering free bus and train rides home.

Saida Zaynab, the Damascus neighborhoods once dominated by many of the 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, is almost deserted. Apartment prices are plummeting and once-crowded shops and buses are half empty.

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was scrambling to assess the transformation last night. An interim report is expected today. "There is a large movement of people going back to Iraq. We are doing rapid research on this," a spokesman said.

The Times is reporting that Iraqi refugees are heading home from Egypt, Jordan and other countries.

Also in The Times, Gerard Baker in his blog ponders "What if Bush wins the war after all?"

He raises a couple of possibilities:

1. The news gets to the point where Iraq ceases to be a drag on Bush's ratings, and if that happens it will change overall perceptions of the Bush presidency. If his approval ratings are at 45 per cent a year from now, rather than the current 35 per cent, that can't be anything other than good news for his party. (Though it still doesn't mean they'll win.)

2. A pretty strong case can be made that the surge has been a success. This is tricky for the Democrats. They fiercely opposed the surge and issued dire warnings about what would happen if it went ahead. They insisted on and tried to legislate an immediate withdrawal of US forces last spring. That doesn't look smart right now.

Related post: Iraq: We are winning

Thanks for the link: Wow, Andrew Sullivan, although he claims I'm performing a premature victory dance.

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