Leaving aside the emphatic assertion that Petraeus’ “strategy” in Iraq worked (does he mean “worked” in the sense that Iraq is now one of the most corrupt countries on the planet?, or “worked” in the sense that Iraq is now the least peaceful country on the planet?, or perhaps “worked” in the sense that several extenuating and unrelated events led to a modest reduction in violence?), I found this bit of Petraeus leg humping to be quite the unintentionally hilarious bit:

Lost in the furor over the disgraced Gen. Stanley McChrystal is this simple truth: The counterinsurgency strategy championed by his successor, Gen. David Petraeus, works. [...]

There’s a terrific example of this in Small Wars Journal this morning, and it’s worth a read. Written by two officers of the 2nd Infantry Division’s Stryker Brigade, “Three Cups of Tea and an IED” captures in compelling detail what Petraeus, and the nearly 100,000 U.S. troops under him, hope to accomplish in the next 12 months.

Over numerous cups of chai – just as Greg Mortenson described in his bestseller, “Three Cups of Tea” — the American team of soldiers and representatives of USAID, the State Department and the Department of Agriculture collaborated to support local Afghan leaders in the Arghandab district of Kandahar Province, building security, local government and job opportunities.
Tragically, the aging warlord and district governor with whom the team worked was assassinated, but the effort continues.
Yes, but we won his heart and mind before they had to scrape them off the side of the road. 
And the effort continues, and as long as it continues, we haven’t lost.  In that sense, Petraeus’ strategy in Iraq did work.
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