Big Gains for Iraq Security, but Questions Linger

al NYT ^ | 21 Jun 08 | STEPHEN FARRELL and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr

[elhombrelibre]

BAGHDAD — What’s going right? And can it last?

Violence in all of Iraq is the lowest since March 2004. The two largest cities, Baghdad and Basra, are calmer than they have been for years. The third largest, Mosul, is in the midst of a major security operation. On Thursday, Iraqi forces swept unopposed through the southern city of Amara, which has been controlled by Shiite militias. There is a sense that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government has more political traction than any of its predecessors.

Consider the latest caricatures of Mr. Maliki put up on posters by the followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the fiery cleric who commands deep loyalty among poor Shiites. They show the prime minister’s face split in two — half his own, half Saddam Hussein’s. The comparison is, of course, intended as a searing criticism. But only three months ago the same Sadr City pamphleteers were lampooning Mr. Maliki as half-man, half-parrot, merely echoing the words of his more powerful Shiite and American backers. It is a notable swing from mocking an opponent perceived to be weak to denouncing one feared to be strong.

[elhombrelibre]

“Yeah but it could get bad again” ping on Iraq.

[cattleranch716]

We’re winning the thing; now we just have to keep off the momentum and get it done before Barack messes it up.

[Marine_Uncle]

I wonder if Sadr’s masses realize he is living in Iran, while they walk about slimy streets full of excrement etc..

[jveritas]

Victory cannot be hidden, even the New York Times has to admit it.

[LZ_Bayonet]

"The anti-government and anti-occupation forces have also stumbled. The Islamist Sunni insurgents alienated many Iraqis with a trail of blood and bans on alcohol and smoking."

"The anti-government and anti-occupation forces Al Qaeda have also stumbled. The Islamist Sunni insurgents Al Qaeda alienated many Iraqis with a trail of blood and bans on alcohol and smoking."

How juvenile and manipulating of the New York Slimes to avoid using the term "Al Qaeda". Trying to de-link AQ from Iraq, and avoid mentioning that the US Military has defeated AQ in Iraq.

[elhombrelibre]

They claim the administration inflates al Qaeda and its role in Iraq, yet they do all they can to make them sound like a purely indigenous insurgency unconnected with al Qaeda in any way. They're the ones lying for their bias.