A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

Remaining arguments against the proposition that the surge and the counterinsurgency strategy implemented in Iraq have been successful revolve around the contention that there has been no political reconciliation in the country.

Such claims are harder to make these days:

Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc returned to the government fold Saturday after calling off a nearly one-year boycott of the Shiite-dominated leadership--another critical stride toward healing sectarian rifts.

The return of the National Accordance Front does more than politically reunite some of Iraq's main centers of power.

It was seen as a significant advance toward reconciliation and efforts to cement security cooperation between Shiite-led forces and armed Sunni groups that rose up against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The United States has pressured Iraq's government to work toward settling the sectarian feuds, which brought daily bloodshed until recent months. The hope is that more parties staked in the future of Iraq could mean a quicker exit for U.S. and other foreign forces.

If such a quick exit is possible, it will be because the surge and the counterinsurgency effort made it possible to secure a more peaceful existence in Iraq and set the stage for acts political reconciliation the likes of which have been reported in this story. And yes, it occurs to me that we ought to reward the Presidential candidate whose confidence in the surge and the counterinsurgency plan has been proven to have been entirely justified.