U.S. Rep Steve Israel of Long Island just returned from visiting Iraq, and sent this note to his constituents:

First, the morale, dedication and professionalism of our troops is extraordinary. As I have said often, in America we have the right to agree with policy to go to war, to disagree or to remain silent. But we have a profound obligation to support our troops when they are deployed overseas and when they return home.

Second, serious challenges remain. One general told me, "My job is to maintain security, but security is more than just military power. Maintaining security and stability involves governance, rebuilding infrastructure, democratization and economic development. All these things help us maintain security."

Later, while flying in a Blackhawk helicopter over Tikrit, the general told me how he spends most of his time promoting security by setting up town halls, building police forces, organizing women’s and school groups, and teaching people how to start small businesses. Combat was "hard power." The general now deploys "soft power.”

To truly accomplish our mission in Iraq, to demonstrate to the world
that the Middle East can engender democracy and not dictatorship,
prosperity and not poverty, education and not indoctrination, we will need to
provide our troops with the resources they need: hard power as well as
soft power.

It sounds less messy and more gritty than some have characterized it. And, in all honesty, it sounds like it took longer to reconstruct the South Bronx after the urban decay of the mid-to-late '70s than it's taking to reconstruct Iraq.