More than imagination...?

I found myself caught up in the enthusiasm shortly after the elections in Iraq on the 30th. That sense of enthusiasm was conveyed here, bolstered by stories immediately after the election describing a stiffening among Iraqi security forces.

Today, the WaPost (via MSNBC), released this story regarding Iraqis beginning to rally to the cause of the security forces:

BAGHDAD, Feb. 6 - With a hero who gave his life for the elections, a revived national anthem blaring from car stereos and a greater willingness to help police, the public mood appears to be moving more clearly against the insurgency in Iraq, political and security officials say.

In the week since national elections, police and Iraqi National Guardsmen say that they have received more tips from the public, resulting in more arrests and greater effectiveness in their efforts to weaken the violent insurgency rocking the country.

Such increased enthusiasm (hat tip to Free Iraqi) - and greater cooperation between civilians and security forces - may be difficult to track from MSM sources, buried beneath reports of continued violence in Iraq.

Of course, anecdotal evidence (such as that listed above) provides fuel for both sides. We need to look for signs of a sea change among the general population. Gregory at the Belgravia Dispatch takes a look at this report from the NY Times:

Last week, as the euphoria of nationwide elections washed over this country, a remarkable thing happened: Iraqis, by and large, stopped talking about the Americans.

With the ballots still being counted here, the Iraqi candidates retired to the back rooms to cut political deals, leaving the Americans, for the first time, standing outside. In Baghdad's tea shops and on its street corners, the talk turned to which of those candidates might form the new government, to their schemes and stratagems, and to Iraqi problems and Iraqi solutions.

And for the United States, the assessments turned unfamiliarly measured.

More American troops are not the solution to the insurgency in Iraq. Iraqis must continue to step forward and take responsibility for their own future. If this trend continues, fence-sitting supporters of the insurgency will continue to question what they hope to accomplish. A return to dictatorship? Endless bloodshed? Continued American attacks on insurgents' infrastructure? All-out sectarian civil war (which Sunnis CANNOT win...)? If withdrawal conditions can be established by the interim government, then what does continued violence against other Iraqis accomplish?

Iraq