As more reports come out of Iraq, it does seem to appear that "The surge" is working.  The new tactics are working.  Of course, much of the mess the US finds itself in in Iraq is due to the lack of planning and poor handling of the victory on the battlefield in 2003.

Al Qaeda moved in and for awhile, it appeared that they were gaining the upper hand. But then they managed to lose the support of even the insurgents who are increasingly seeing that the US doesn't want to be in Iraq any more than the nationalists in Iraq want them there. By contrast, Al Qaeda began over playing their hand and demanding ever increasing extremism from their allies -- cutting off hands and killing all those who didn't toe the line.  As a result, Al Qaeda is losing support and being crushed on the field according to military commanders.

This article below talks about it in extensive detail. Worth reading for sure!