The blind are made to see, so it appears (via Instapundit):

When Maj. Gen. Graeme Lamb, a 50-year-old Briton, arrived in June to lead the mainly European force controlling southeastern Iraq, he was skeptical, he said. He felt that "this is going to be a lot more difficult than we realized."

But as General Lamb prepared to hand his command to another British general, he said at a news conference here on Tuesday that Saddam Hussein's capture and other changes, including progress in restoring oil installations, power stations and running water, as well as the Iraqis' fast-rising prosperity, had fostered a new confidence that the American-led occupation force can eventually hand a politically stable Iraq back to its people.

"Is this do-able?" he said. "You'd better believe it."

After the near-total success against the warnings of catastrophe before March, the steady rebuilding and new construction despite soulless attacks on brave Allies and innocent Iraqis, the capture of Saddam Hussein and the severe damage dealt to the strength of these terrorist attacks, and the words and deeds of Iraqis who are soberly prepared to govern themselves in peace, we can distinctly see two kinds of people in the world. The first are those who think wisdom comes from shrewd misanthropy, and, guided by petty politics and philosophies of condescension, hope for failure of those whom they hate - universal freedom be damned. The second kind are those of us who believe in the strength, courage and will of good men; men who are found in all walks of life, all cultures; and who will, someday, bring this world to the less fragile peace between nations of free will and enterprise.