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November 19, 2007

Dog Bites Man - Even Though We've Lost, We May be Winning in Iraq

Rush Limbaugh has collected a list of mainstream media stories about Iraq that indicate we may be winning.

• Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says AL-Qaeda in Iraq has been crushed.
• The Los Angeles Times says Sunnis and Shi'ites are working together against the terrorists.
• The New York Times says that the violence is decreasing.
• Newsweek says Baghdad is coming back to life.

Laura Ingraham reports that this last story has also appeared in the Chicago Tribune. In this audio clip, you can hear Howard Kurtz and Laura discussing Michael Ware's report on the improving situation, bringing the total number of sightings to six.

A common thread in all the stories is the cooperation between Americans and Iraqis at the local level. From the Tribune

Far more significant than the increased troop presence, officials say, is the revolt that has taken place within Sunni neighborhoods against Al Qaeda in Iraq. Echoing the successful tribal rebellion against Al Qaeda in Anbar province, local Sunni insurgents have turned against their former allies, driving Al Qaeda operatives out of their strongholds and ending the reign of terror that the extremists had perpetrated.

From the New York Times:

Thousands of new Sunni volunteers have made common cause with the Americans. About 72,000 such civilians have joined the effort, American officials said, and 45,000 each receive a $300 a month stipend from the Americans to help with the effort.

From the Los Angeles Times.

"Sunnis-Shiites, no problem," said Obede Ali Hussein, 22, who stood at a checkpoint built by the U.S. Army along the Diyala River. "We want to protect our neighborhood."

The U.S. believes that the government of Iraq is not taking advantage of this trend, but I think that's a good sign. An effective Iraqi government could implement bold initiatives designed to promote fairness and equity among the various ethnic groups, thus forever casting in stone the idea that life is a zero-sum game played between people of differing faiths. God help us all.

But like any other natural disaster, the tragic consequences of effective government are only hypothetical. For now, the truth on the ground is that the people of Iraq are fighting back, not as Shi'as against Sunnis, but decent people against terrorists. That's serious good news.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat

# At Mon 9:34 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (0) | More Dog Bites Man | Tags: conservative Howard Kurtz humor Iraq journalism Laura Ingraham Michael Ware War on Terror

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» North of Fullujah from Stix Blog
via emailA U.S. Marine squad was marching north of Fallujah when they came upon anIraqi terrorist, badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite side of theroad was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state.The Marine was conscious [Read More]

Tracked on November 19, 2007 10:41 PM

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