The rout is on
It’s a shame that good news from Iraq gets buried by the mainstream press, while bad news rises to the top.
American forces have routed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood of Baghdad, a top American general said today, allowing American troops involved in the “surge” to depart as planned.
Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commander of United States forces in Baghdad, also said that American troops had yet to clear some 13 percent of the city, including Sadr City and several other areas controlled by Shiite militias. But, he said, “there’s just no question” that violence had declined since a spike in June.
“Murder victims are down 80 percent from where they were at the peak,” and attacks involving improvised bombs are down 70 percent, he said.
General Fil attributed the decline to improvements in the Iraqi security forces, a cease-fire ordered by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, the disruption of financing for insurgents, and, most significant, Iraqis’ rejection of “the rule of the gun.”
Rush Limbaugh pointed out yesterday that “No wonder the Times has to put this on page A-19. You know where the Post put the story about the returning Iraqis to Baghdad? Page A-20.”
Meanwhile, Speaker of State Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful woman in America, is bringing another surrender bill to the House of Representatives. More here.
Additional link: Michael Yon’s iconic image of hope and unity in Iraq
Thanks and Praise: I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John's Church in Baghdad. They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome.
