Let us look at the progress in Iraq on each of the 5 main reasons for going to war:
1) Europeans and Indians and Persians are NOT yet driving through Iraq on the way to anywhere yet. Truck transport between China and Germany does not chose to drive through Iraq and Iran. This is because IRAN is blocking progress and supporting the insurgency in Iraq. Iran needs to be liberated next, so as to create the economic conditions for that region becoming the rich trade crossroads it used to be when it was the cradle of civilization.
If Syria wants the future superhighway to go through their territory, they will need to get their act together or it will go through Turkey.
2) The Libyan nuke program was put out of business and we reaped an intelligence bonanza on WMDs by liberating Iraq. Many of the people we caught are not being talked about because they are working with us to catch others (and being given Swiss hideaways for their efforts).
3) At least Iraq's oil is in non-terrorist hands. I cannot believe that Iranian, Venezuelan and Saudi oil is still in the hands of people whom we may not be able to trust. But having Iraqi and Canadian oil makes it easier for us to leverage our other enemies.
4) We are not being told how well the Flypaper Strategy is going. A general said last month that we killed 50,000 bad guys in the past six months. But then he was hushed up. I can see why it would have to be kept secret if we were really killing thousands of young men as they crossed the border of Iraq to fight us. The liberals would scream that we were being "unfair" or "war criminals who were killing laborers who were sneaking across the border to Iraq in order to find a job."
5) The Shiites are obviously in control of Iraq because the Sunnis now have to try to use politics (and a large voter turnout) in order to "defeat" them in an upcoming free election that hinges on three provinces. The Sunni leaders are now recruiting everyone possible to vote (when they were doing the opposite in January).
Leftists and "Granite State Conservatives" don't see the beautiful irony in today's news. The Iraqi constitution may be "defeated" when the Sunnis turn out in record numbers at the polls in three provinces of Iraq.
That is right: "record numbers of Sunnis at the polls in Iraq" means that more Sunnis will vote in this democratic election than ever before in 6000 years of history.
Iraq will have Red States and Blue States.
And the media is making that look like we are "losing."
And maybe they are right but for a different reason. Should Iraq become as schizoid as Red/Blue America?
The media is making this democratic election (referendum) look like it "will set us back" in terms of our reasons for going into Iraq in the first place. Really??
The Sunnis of Iraq will "defeat Bush at the polls" in a democratic election. Of course. That means that Bush was wrong. :-(
Basically, the situation in Iraq now regarding the terrorists who hate democracy is as follows:
"Heads we win, tails you lose."
The Sunnis may delay the Iraqi Constitution in a democratic election this fall. The terrorists would be encouraging them to vote against the Constitution. But by agreeing to let people vote, the terrorists lose.
Watch the MSM. See if they understand what a 5 year old would understand regarding this upcoming election.
It is really a "Heads we win, tails you lose" situation.
But then watch the "Granite State Conservatives" agree with the MSM that "we never should have gone into Iraq".
That is right, three out of 18 provinces might not always vote the way we would like them to vote. The horror!!!
Something to do with a constitution was delayed!! Wasn't our constitution delayed as well? Aren't our amendments often killed off and/or delayed by a generation? That is the beauty of democracy. It doesn't just happen by fiat.
I'd be concerned if the Iraqis suddenly had a constitution they hadn't argued over.