....To use another metric: when things are going badly in a country, we tend to see flows of refugees out of the country. Indeed, opponents of the war warned at the time of the dire situation that would be created by fleeing Iraqis. Not only did this fail to happen, but the net flow since the war has actually been into Iraq, as people have returned from exile in Syria, Jordan, and the West.
So, at the very least, the Iraqis don't seem to think that the peace is being lost. Why might that be? Well, let's look at the four most important factors for winning the peace: rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, creating a viable civil society and laying the groundwork for democracy, getting the economy moving, and providing security.
First, infrastructure: electricity generation is now at or above pre-war levels. The grid was in a poor state long before the war, and Saddam's regime intentionally caused blackouts in other cities in order to keep the lights on in Baghdad. Now, even with a more equitable distribution of electricity, blackouts in the capital are relatively rare. Similarly, water supplies are cleaner and more plentiful in many places than they were before the war, and phone use is becoming more widespread than ever before, as mobile phones come to Iraq for the first time.
Schools have all re-opened, many of them refurbished by coalition forces. New textbooks are being printed, and lessons no longer begin with the chanting of praise for Saddam. Hospitals have been improved and re-opened, and an estimated 3 million of the 4.3 million Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received vaccinations. I could go on about the rebuilding of roads, seaports, airports, etc. - the U.S. Agency for International Development puts out a weekly report on infrastructure progress in Iraq, and I urge you to consult that if you're interested.....
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