THE GOVERNOR
 
I sit with Governor David Patterson in his car, watching a heavy snow fall on the tarmac of LaGuardia Airport.  We are waiting for a plane to take us to Andrews Air Force Base, where we will meet Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Tom Cole (R-OK); and then board a military flight to Iraq and Afghanistan. 
 
Nearly 10,000 New York troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some are on their third deployment and the strains are acute during the holidays. The purpose of our visit is to provide moral support and also to assess rapidly changing conditions in two separate military theaters.
 
While we wait, snowplows begin to clear LaGuardia's runways. With that, the Governor reaches for his cell phone.
 
"Better make sure they're plowing the Thruway," he says. 
 
CORKSCREW LANDINGS
 
The lumbering C-130 seems to stop in mid-air and then begins a steep dive towards Baghdad International Airport. It is called a "corkscrew landing," designed to avoid the possibility of ground fire.  Even though this is my sixth trip into the military theater, the maneuver remains unnerving. (Disclosure: When my kids were small, my job at amusement parks was to stand on solid ground, guarding souvenirs, while they rode roller coasters and even carousels). The plane veers sharply, and finally lands with a soft thud. We deplane, clad in body armor and helmets. Welcome to Baghdad.
 
POWERPOINTS
 
In military headquarters in Baghdad and Al-Asad, Generals offer PowerPoint slides glowing with maps and lines and acronyms. They tell an interesting story.
 
On prior visits, every PowerPoint display of violence within Iraq was dominated by large red concentric circles, spread almost evenly across a map of the country, like a growing rash. On this visit, the conflict areas have been reduced to just a handful of dots.  The insurgents -- now confined to the remnants of "Al Qaeda in Iraq" and hard-core nationalist groups - are fighting in isolated areas. There are violent eruptions, in Mosul and elsewhere, but nothing like the wave of violence that swept Iraq in the past.
 
I have seen Iraq go from bad to worse. Now it is much better. Perhaps as good as it will ever get. This war - ill-conceived and poorly-planned by the likes of Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush - is finally reaching its final stages. The power-points are vivid justifications to begin an orderly redeployment from Iraq.
 
WAR FIGHTING & NATION BUILDING
 
The new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is the largest American diplomatic mission on Earth. Here, we meet with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General Ray Odierno, the four-star who commands U.S. Forces in Iraq.
 
I met Odierno years ago - shortly after the invasion of Iraq. At the time he commanded the Fourth Infantry Division, headquartered north of Baghdad. We were on a Blackhawk helicopter and I asked him then what a typical day was like.  He ticked off visits to public schools, inspection of infrastructure projects, speeches to chambers of commerce, and meetings with local political leaders. All elements of "soft power." All geared to "non-kinetic operations": putting things together rather than blowing them up. 

Now, years later, Odierno talks about the upcoming provincial elections, governance, and reconstruction. The critical lesson learned of Iraq is reflected in this four star General, trained as a warrior, but acting everyday as a nation-builder.