Good News from the Iraqi Front

In news that will probably be ignored within a week or so, things are getting better in Iraq. In fact, the Iraqi military…yes, the Iraqi run military, not the US military presence, will be taking full control of the Anbar province. Why is this important? The Anbar province was filled to the gills with insurgents and includes the borders of Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan…where foreign militants had been sneaking into Iraq. According to a Pentagon report on the region, the “…average number of security incidents remained at five incidents per day over a 90-day period, accounting for less than 4 percent of the attacks in all of Iraq…This represents a 10-fold reduction compared to the summer of 2006 and is half of the rate of the last few months of 2007.” That’s big news.

This comes along with other big news that the Iraqi government is forming a new oil production company after the Iraqi military, (again forces run by the Iraqi government…not the US), “…brought Shiite militias in the Maysan capital of Amarah under control.” Yes, Iraqi forces are helping stabilize regions of their own country. This company will begin developing for oil in the Maysan region upon approval of the Iraqi parliament. Once again, this is a huge deal for Iraq and shows that there is progress during this protracted war.

Why isn’t the media discussing this in detail? Why doesn’t the media care about the fact that the Iraqi war is actually going more smoothly and that the Iraqi government is starting to kick it up and work the way it should? Why doesn’t the MSM actually discuss this at length? Because they can not. To admit they were wrong about the Iraq war would be a folly for them, as Cal Thomas points out. Here’s an excerpt from his article –

The main reason progress in Iraq is not receiving more attention is that the progress is considerable and the big media are not paying attention because they don't like the new storyline. They prefer "America defeated," not "America victorious" because defeat increases the likelihood of a Democratic electoral blowout in the fall.

A headline in last Saturday's New York Times tells you all you need to know about the reluctance of the mainstream media to report on progress in Iraq. With what sounds like information produced only after an editor was water-boarded, it reads, "Big Gains for Iraq Security, but Questions Linger."

If this headline writer were reporting victory in World War II, it might have read, "America wins; German and Japanese Psyche Seriously Affected." The 1969 moon landing might have read: "Man Lands on Moon; Will It Hurt the Lunar Environment?"

It’s sad, but it’s true. It is now John McCain’s job to tell the nation that the Iraq war is finally making some traction, making giant leaps, and that the people of Iraq are reaping the benefits, not merely us. Their penchant for yellow journalism will make it difficult to make headway, but it needs to be done. The nation needs to know, it’s their God given right as human beings to be told the truth about what’s going on with their own countrymen abroad. McCain needs to make sure we know the truth, because we all know the media isn’t going to tell us.

This is cross-posted from my primary blog, Matty N's Blog.