By E. Thomas McClahanan, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist
Interesting piece from Strategypage on the withdrawal of the surge units. The criteria used to determine the pace of the withdrawal are secret, and are based on the effectiveness of Iraqi army and police units.
A year ago, it finally became obvious to most Sunni Arabs that the Shia majority had finally done the impossible (according to Sunni Arab beliefs) and created a large number of effective soldiers and police. That force, backed by the Americans, could not be defeated.
Update: Al Qaeda is already babbling on the subject of "how we lost in Iraq."