Because actually it took several reorganizations and changes in military leadership before there were real positives of this kind. Counterinsurgency is much more than killing bad guys. It is creating the circumstances where the local community sees their lives as being substantially better because you are there; it is making sure that you don't create new bad guys faster than you kill off the old ones, and if you are really good, bad guys begin to realize that their lives will be a lot better if they cooperate and they become good guys.
We had to get the neocon politicals out and get genuine professionals in before this could happen. It is embarassing that Republicans were as bad as democrats are. Political loyalty and working on a compaign are no subsitute for knowing what you are doing.
Well said...