As the president today explains where progress has been made in Iraq, and where the Iraqi government has failed to meet our expectations, it seems apparent that what we’re doing is not working. I’m not speaking of Operation Phantom Thunder (‘the surge’), where this magazine has chronicled the steady progress of operations to date, and the promise those operations hold for restoring order to Iraq. No, I’m talking about the attempt to explain the mission–and build support for it–here at home. Despite the encouraging signs–and acknowledging the false starts and problems–polls show that the American people are tired of hearing about Iraq and our losses there. That’s understandable. As the White House has frequently pointed out, the Iraq war is costing this country in both treasure and lives. Further, a significant part of both the political class and the media have staked their reputations and futures on a failure in Iraq. Given all this, the challenge for those who see the value of what we’re doing, and who believe that Iraq can succeed, is to find a way to change the debate. Quin Hillyer of the American Spectator has a good piece that gets us started toward thinking outside the frame of the current debate: