This is Brian Williams yesterday on Hardball about signs of progress from the surge. He is especially good at the end about the disconnect between Washington, where all the talk is how to end the war, and Iraq, where the focus is still on trying to win it:

MATTHEWS: Now I want to ask you the big question. How is the surge going in Baghdad? WILLIAMS: Well, I`ll tell you. It`s in its early stages and with – if you mention the so-called surge, you have to talk about it in tandem with this new policy of these small outposts, these – what they are really is glorified police stations.
We saw it today in Ramadi. There is patently no way a few weeks ago we could have stood outside an armored vehicle and had a conversation as we did today in Ramadi.
They have changed policy there. The war has changed.
Is it better? That`ll be for other people to judge. But it is already being felt here, that is, the increase in troops. The first ones are already here.
There`s a huge field behind us they are clearing for the 3rd Infantry, for their next tour of duty here. And so, we`ll have to wait and see. It`s on a continuum.
But, again, the combination, with this change in policy – getting out, decentralizing, going into the neighborhoods, grabbing a toehold, telling the enemy we`re here, start talking to the locals – that is having an obvious and palpable effect.
MATTHEWS: Do they – have you been there long enough, Brian, this time over, to sense whether it`s different than the last time you were there?
WILLIAMS: Already there are some obvious differences in security in some spots. It doesn`t take that long on the ground to instantly compare it to previous visits. So, yes.
We covered a lot of ground in one day. And when you travel with a three star and a Black Hawk, you can do that. We had a lot of heavy armor on the ground to facilitate our travels.
Still a very dangerous place. There are pockets of peace and serenity where the soldiers can go to relax, the contractors can do their jobs.
But yes, Chris, all of them revolving around the issue of security. There are some very obvious differences, starting with the arrival at the airport.
MATTHEWS: Has there been any cost to morale? And again, it`s a hard one to get perhaps this quickly after a couple of days there, Brian.
But the British withdrawal of troops from Basra, are people feeling we`re out there on point all alone as a country now?
WILLIAMS: I heard no talk of that, and that`s all I can speak to.
Today, the message that we`re prepared to report tonight on “NBC Nightly News” is this kind of tale of two wars.
I`m fresh from, you know, weeks of putting together “NBC Nightly News” and televising this debate in Washington, a lot of members of Congress saying we should be out now.
And today, we literally airlift into a place like Ramadi, where they are so proud of the latest city block they say they have been able to “peacify.” They have been able to forge an agreement with the local religious leaders and knock al Qaeda one city block further away from the center of town.
They are so involved in the battle. Many, many soldiers told me today the local people are so worried they`re going to leave cities like Ramadi and Hit. That`s the war they know.
And they say very politely, they can talk all they want in D.C.; we`ve got to enforce the policy, the job we`re here to do.

Also, USA Today had this encouraging report yesterday, “Iraq ousts 10,000 in security ministry.”