An interview from Stars & Stripes with Col. Leonard Cosby, whose unit just left rotated out of Anbar after a 15 month tour:
"Things were not that good when we first got here, to say the least," said Col. Leonard Cosby, 44, of Canton, Miss., the 92nd Military Police Battalion commander. "Over time, it got progressively worse as far as deaths and incidents. We basically were in the middle of all that as we struggled to conduct our [police transition team] missions. It was particularly rough."... "From our perspective, it's been a 180-degree turnaround," Cosby said. "It's head and shoulders better than what it was. "We've seen it at its worst. Now we've seen the improvement. Hopefully, it's that irreversible momentum we talk about."
The turnaround in Anbar is an impressive feat by any measure--and, of course, none of it would have been possible without the Democrats' victory in the 2006 elections.