Positive News out of Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi and U.S. forces have arrested about 100 suspects thought to be crucial to the operations of militant groups in al Qaeda's last haven of north Iraq, the commander of U.S. forces in the area said on Monday.

“The surge worked. Incontestably. Iraqis grew disenchanted with extremism. Our military performed magnificently. More and more Iraqis have stepped up to fight for their own country. The Iraqi economy's taking off. And, for all its faults, the Iraqi legislature has accomplished far more than our own lobbyist-run Congress over the last 18 months.

When Iraq seemed destined to become a huge American embarrassment, our media couldn't get enough of it. Now that Iraq looks like a success in the making, there's a virtual news blackout.”

The Natural Truth From Iraq



While Sen. Obama prepares to declare defeat in Iraq and abandon a developing democracy to Al Qaeda, Iran and the Sadrists, something has been happening that this Harvard lawyer cannot comprehend: Victory.

It's not just former Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters who sees it, though he does an excellent job of reporting the current state of Iraq.

And it's not just our friend Michael Yon, the best on-the-ground reporter in Iraq today.

It's also the enemies of America who are conceding an American victory is within grasp.

First there's this email from an Al Qaeda ally doing an analysis of their efforts in Iraq. He notes with alarm that Al Qaeda managed about 300 attacks last May, but just 16 so far this month--part of a drastic drop-off that has followed the success of the surge. (The Al Qaeda analyst does NOT point out that Sens. Clinton, Kennedy and Obama all opposed the surge.)

Then there's this story from--believe it or not!--the Boston Globe-Democrat:

BAGHDAD - Some 10,000 Iraqi troops fanned out in Baghdad's Sadr City yesterday, taking positions on main roads, rooftops, and near hospitals in an attempt to establish government control in the Shi'ite militia enclave for the first time since Saddam Hussein's ouster.

Success relies on whether a truce holds with fighters loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr....

The move, code-named "Operation Peace," is the latest by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to impose government authority in areas controlled by armed groups. Besides the Basra offensive, an ongoing sweep launched a week ago in the northern city of Mosul aims to uproot Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents.

But the fragile truce's survival could depend on how forcefully the troops try to reduce the Mahdi Army's long-unquestioned domination of Sadr City, home to 2 million Shi'ites.

Already, Sadr supporters were complaining of the heavy deployment.

"We were surprised by the size of the force," said Sheik Salman al-Freiji, director of the Sadr Movement office in the district. "But their entry in such size has sparked fears that there could be violations of mosques and homes. There must be respect."

The elected government of Iraq and its Shi'ite president once again confronting Shi'ite militias, and with a "surprising" show of force. When the Boston Globe-Democrat can't avoid the story, maybe it's not too late for Sen. Obama to catch up, too.

BAGHDAD, June 1 (Reuters) - Nineteen U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq in May, the U.S. military said on Sunday, the lowest monthly death toll since U.S. forces invaded to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The number of Iraqi civilians killed in the same month plunged to 505 after reaching a seven-month high of 968 in April,