Yes, really. First, here’s a video, via Allah (h/t), of Murtha’s former failure to see progress despite the Brooking’s Institute saying they saw it first hand.

And now?

“I think the ’surge’ is working,” the Democrat said in a videoconference from his Johnstown office, describing the president’s decision to commit more than 20,000 additional combat troops this year. But the Iraqis “have got to take care of themselves.”

Violence has dropped significantly in recent months, but Mr. Murtha said he was most encouraged by changes in the once-volatile Anbar province, where locals have started working closely with U.S. forces to isolate insurgents linked to Al Qaeda…

Mr. Murtha’s four day-trip took him to a Thanksgiving dinner with troops in Kuwait last Thursday, and he then made stops in Iraq, Turkey and Belgium.

He goes on to say that Iraqis do, however, need to work on political progress. Very few, if any, people (including President Bush) actually denies that. But a key component of political progress is actually, ya know, not dodging mortar rounds.

Oh, and that timetable? Yeah, he’s willing to give a little leeway.

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Democratic Representative John Murtha said he is “optimistic” that House Democrats and President George W. Bush can agree on Iraq war funding after an earlier $50 billion proposal linked to troop withdrawals was blocked in the Senate.

“Congress wants to come up with an agreement,” Murtha, chairman of a House subcommittee on military spending, told reporters in a video conference from his office in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. “Leadership may be willing to compromise” on the time line for withdrawing troops from Iraq, he said.

Cue Moonbat head explosion.