Colonel McFarland was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening. I mean, that's just a matter of history. Thanks to General Petraeus, our leadership, and the sacrifice of brave young Americans. I mean, to deny that their sacrifice didn't make possible the success of the surge in Iraq, I think, does a great disservice to young men and women who are serving and have sacrificed.

COL MACFARLAND: I think that the insurgents have figured out that the Iraqi police are locally recruited and they serve locally, so they have inherently an advantage when it comes to intelligence- gathering. They know who's who. They live in the same neighborhoods.

Now, in the past, it's been a problem for Iraqi police because they've been subjected to murder and intimidation by al Qaeda. You know, their families have been threatened, or they've been directly threatened, and that's inhibited them from doing their job properly.

But now that the population and the tribal leaders are beginning to make common cause against al Qaeda, the tide is -- the table is turned completely against al Qaeda, and now it's the al Qaeda forces that need to be worried about living in those neighborhoods. They stick out like a sore thumb. Everybody knows who the terrorists are.

That (interview) was a bit over a month before the midterm elections (in November 2006). The surge wasn't announced until after the elections and wasn't actually implemented until long after MacFarland gave the interview. And presumably the events he was describing happened before the interview itself.