Just as the invasion of Normandy did not mean the end of WW II was a given (though in hindsight we see it was because of the Russian push against Germany on their Western Front kept Germany from defending the Allies from taking ground to the South and East) it is by no means a given the Surge will be the point where Iraq turned from disaster to success. But it is clear that, as we see the results of the Surge and the uprising in Iraq against al-Qaeda, the trend lines is clearly running away from defeat and heading straight towards success. Check out the latest great news from Iraq:

The U.S. troop surge in Iraq continues to have positive effects, as violence and casualties are decreasing in many areas of the country, the Joint Staff’s director for operational planning said today.

In and around Baghdad, terrorist operations are down by 59 percent; operations targeting Iraqi forces are down more than 60 percent; car bombs are down by 65 percent; fatalities due to car bombs are down by 81 percent; casualties due to enemy attacks are down by 77 percent; and the violence during this last Ramadan period was the lowest in three years, Army Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock told Pentagon reporters.

Also, last week in Anbar province, the coalition had no casualties, which is an important milestone, the general noted.

“Overall casualties in Iraq have continued to decrease, even though coalition forces have conducted a variety of operations throughout the country,” Sherlock said. “While this is indeed encouraging, al Qaeda in Iraq, other extremist groups and criminal elements in Iraq continue to be major threats.”

Germany was a threat for years after the tide had turned and the dedication and sacrifice of the Allies sealed the fate of the Nazis, which began with our surge into the beaches of Normandy. What I found stunning last night was watching the parades in Anbar that were AIMED at defying al-Qaeda and promoting a positive, democratic future for Iraq. Time also covered the news in print:

Osama bin Laden’s latest call for Iraqi insurgents to unite against Americans fell on deaf ears this week in Ramadi, the city that al-Qaeda leaders once declared the seat of a new Islamic caliphate and capital of the Iraqi insurgency. Rather than rise up against them, the people of Ramadi Tuesday invited U.S. forces to watch a massive parade — albeit one so tightly secured that no pedestrian traffic got close to it. The almost surreal, two-hour martial procession was led by the city’s children to commemorate the martyred leader of a tribal revolt that has virtually silenced al-Qaeda in Anbar Province. It gave the Baghdad government a photo-op to make points about national unity, and so the Shi’a dominated government sent a representative to Sunni Ramadi. “With unity, victory is possible,” said Iraqi Defense Adviser Mowaffak al Rubaei, clearly referring to bin Laden’s attempt to drum up support for a renewed anti-American uprising.

Get prepared for a steady, month-by-month stream of continued progress as this wave of revolt against al-Qaeda and the march to freedom continues to roll across Iraq. I wrote a while back, using charts from General Petraeus’ briefings to Congress, that the other areas of the Surge which came after Anbar (Anbar was the model, and had a good 3+ months of progress towards eradicating Iraq before the Surge was even debated) were only starting to trend towards the same general result as we see now in Anbar. The momentum against al-Qaeda has not yet even begun take hold yet in Diyala and Salahadin Provinces, and those areas we are chasing al-Qaeda into as we circle them and crush them.

al-Qaeda runs from American and Iraqi forces, and aims it weapons on unarmed children and residential areas. Because of this last gasp of desperation, it is only infuriating and mobilizing more and more of the Iraqi Muslim street to rise up in opposition to destroy those threatening their families, friends and neighbors. America is helping them in their fight.

The SurrenderMedia is doing all it can to avoid discussing what is happening in Iraq. They are focused on Blackwater and Kurdish rebels in the North (who will never convince the Kurds to destroy their current peace and prosperity and start dying for another messianic cause). But their denial cannot last forever or change events. And Americans, hesitant to be upbeat about Iraq because war has that effect on people, will start to change their minds as the trends continue on their current heading in Iraq. Few things could divert where the Iraqis are heading when it comes to their feelings about al-Qaeda. al-Qaeda has spilt way too much Iraqi blood for that to happen.