A Chance For Unity On Iraq

If the streets are safe, it will be easier to insist that the Iraqis working in the ministries do their jobs, without fear of retaliation against their families or themselves.

But Petraeus, who spent 18 months trying to organize the training of Iraqi army and police forces in an earlier phase of the war, knows how tough a challenge it will be to improve either the Iraqi military or its bureaucracy. When then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pulled him out of Iraq to run the Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Sen. John McCain, among others, was furious that the ablest American in Iraq had been reassigned.

Returning to an Iraq where the security situation is now far worse, Petraeus is guardedly hopeful about the military mission.

But even if the violence can be quelled, a major concern is whether the other parts of our government -- notably the State Department -- are prepared for the effort it will take to get the Iraq economy up and running, unemployment down, the oil industry operating, and the government ministries delivering the basic services people need and expect.

The challenge is immense, but for a change, there is a chance to get the full weight of our government pulling in the same direction. Congress ought to seize the opportunity.

davidbroder@washpost.com