The Surge and Beyond

It feels like we've seen this before: US troops make progress in Iraq, while Iraq's political and ethnic divide appears as vast as ever.

And yet something real has happened on the ground: the terrible bloodletting brought on by the fall of Saddam has ebbed. Neighborhoods are quieter. And as promised, the first drawdown of US troops has begun.

The "surge" gets part of the credit. But this isn't peace yet, the generals warn. Iraq's civil war still simmers beneath the surface, and what happens when the Americans ease their grip on the streets is anyone's guess.

This hour, On Point: The surge, and the day after the surge.Guests:

Damien Cave, Baghdad correspondent for The New York Times.

Conrad Crane, director of the U. S. Army Military History Institute at the U.S. Army War College.

Paul Hughes, retired U.S. Army colonel, now senior program officer at the United States Institute of Peace.