Given that Chris and I are drawing swords over the transportation fiasco, I would be remiss not to amplify the excellent point he makes on the success of the President’s bold new strategy on Iraq.
First here’s what Patrick Ruffini is saying at Townhall (via MC):
In Iraq, there’s a sense that change is in the air — literally. Omar of Iraq the Model spots a B-1 Bomber in the skies of Baghdad for the first time since the end of the major combat. On the ground, Omar writes that the signs that Iraqis are getting serious about security are more palpable. With the help of Compstat-like technology, security forces are cracking down at checkpoints (even ambulances are getting stopped) and getting nimbler about locating them strategically so the terrorists don’t know what to expect.
This turnaround in Baghdad is confirmed at home by the media’s near-deafening silence. If it seems like you’ve heard less about how Iraq is spiraling into civil war in the weeks since the surge was announced, this is why. Even some discordant voices in the media are starting to wonder what’s happening. Time magazine worries that it’s “Quiet in Baghdad. Too quiet.” That’s right — a dramatic reduction in violence is actually bad news.
. . .
When things don’t go well in Iraq, we see the endless B-roll of chaos and carnage. When things are on the upswing, we tend to hear more about Anna Nicole Smith. The media will never acknowledge victories in Iraq, so we’ll have to settle for an absence of bad coverage. But even in this relative lull in Iraq, it’s important to understand and appreciate the short-term victories so we can create more of them. And finish the job.
MC then takes the reigns himself, and overruns the Dems (and indirectly the Wobblies):
This is what makes the efforts of congressional Democrats so despicable. The dishonesty in their motives, the sheer politics of it, and the knowledge that for said politics they are willing to snap victory out of the jaws of defeat. If you notice the most consistent Democrat windbags (Jack Murtha and his twin, Jim Moran come to mind) don’t even pretend to argue whether this is working or not. They just jump over that small little detail and just scream, “out out out!”
Remember, victory is within reach and if we fail this country will pay for a long time. And if we do fail, al-Qaeda wins.
Masterful; simply masterful.
