Grasping At Straws

I always find it amusing when conservatives try to counter mountains of evidence with shaky counterpoints. Whether it be a topic like global warming, or in this case Iraq:

Good News From Iraq
Picking up where Arthur Chrenkoff* left off, Bill Crawford has pulled together a collection of under-reported "good news" items from Iraq for National Review. Read it all (especially those of you confused by my criticism of CTV's Lisa LaFlamme).

A few exerpts;
In addition to taking over battle space, Iraqis continue to take the lead in more security operations. Operation Cobra Strike was lead by soldiers of the 8th Iraqi Army Division. The operation was planned, and conducted by Iraqis, with U.S. soldiers in support.

139 Iraqi soldiers recently graduated from commando school, and are ready to fight:

39 of 45 planned border forts along the Iran-Iraq border are complete. The border posts are manned by Iraqis.

In another raid, a senior al Qaeda operative was killed. Abu Umar was the terror groups "ambassador," and was charged with forming relationships with other groups in Iraq. Umar was an associate of Osama bin Laden. More than 115 top al Qaeda operatives have been killed or captured in Iraq over the last few months.

Now for the bad news:

-the current American casualty rate for April is the highest since last November, more than triple last month. So much for the "Iraqis taking the lead" angle. Also interesting that three years on, the Iraqis still aren't able to claim one battalion that can run operations effectively(there was one, but it has since been downgraded). Another example of the Iraqi forces inability to deal with the insurgents.

-on the politics front, another day without a government, furthering the argument that Iraq can't act as a single entity, despite the propaganda of elections.

-nothing says positivity like a brewing battle to replace the American defense secretary. When generals, who normally don't question the civilian authority, say it a mess, chances are its a mess. Traders, emboldening the enemy??

-quite telling that the debate is largely a question of whether or not we can use the phrase civil war yet. Talk of victory doesn't even register with sane minds.

-on the issue of Iraqis manning the borders, for anyone who thinks this will be effective I suggest a close look at the most comprehensive, technologically advanced attempt to secure a porous border.

Yep, no question that the situation is improving in Iraq, with many high profile examples as proof. If only the liberal media would tell the true story.