Is the war in Iraq becoming winnable?

Last February I was in Fallujah at the start of the surge, and when I asked soldiers if they thought we were winning the war they almost universally rolled their eyes, and gave me some version of "Yea, right" for being dumb enough to even be asking the question. [snip]

Ten months later I toured the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad with Col. Patrick Storm, the hospital commander, and he shared some amazing statistics with me. [>] [snip]

Now when I talk to soldiers there is definitely a new sense of optimism that was non-existent just 10 months ago. Nobody thinks the war will be over soon, but most people are coming to believe that it's winnable.

One of the most striking signs of progress to me is the number of Iraqis that wave at our helicopters as we fly over.

http://www.minnpost.com/iraq/