Credit for the Surge

Mr. Obama, Give That Man A Medal, (Wall Street Journal)…William McGurn, Nov 18, 2008.

Stephen Hadley offered the option of victory in Iraq.

The surge story begins back in 2006, when al Qaeda finally succeeded in setting the Shia and Sunni at each others’ throats. That October, with Baghdad consumed by sectarian fires, Mr. Hadley tasked William Luti to come up with a new way forward.

By having Mr. Luti draw up the concept for a surge, Mr. Hadley ensured that when options were presented to the president, one of them would be to fight. In Mr. Luti’s strategic conception, securing the population became the top priority. In public, advocates like retired Army Gen. Jack Keane and military strategist Fred Kagan did yeoman’s work to press the case for a surge. But within the White House decision-making process, it was almost this simple: No Steve Hadley, no surge — and no success.

Awarding Steve Hadley the Medal of Freedom would cost Mr. Obama nothing, save possibly a few howls from the Daily Kos.