...and *especially* the New York Times, there has been some almost surprising reporting and editorializing of late. Clearly, there are people who are thinking through what may happen if we just pull up our stakes and leave Iraq, vice trying to better set conditions that might give the admittedly weak and seemingly floundering Iraqi government a chance.
The Washington Post: The Washington Post Says Congress Should Give Generals In Iraq Time To See "Whether Their Strategy Can Offer Some New Hope." "If American men and women were dying in July in a clearly futile cause, it would indeed be immoral to wait until September to order their retreat. But given the risks of withdrawal, the calculus cannot be so simple. The generals who have devised a new strategy believe they are making fitful progress in calming Baghdad, training the Iraqi army and encouraging anti-al-Qaeda coalitions. Before Congress begins managing rotation schedules and ordering withdrawals, it should at least give those generals the months they asked for to see whether their strategy can offer some new hope."
The LA Times: U.S. Military Spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner Says Collective Efforts Against Al Qaeda Have "Begun To Disrupt Their Networks And Safe Havens" In Iraq. "He said U.S. forces killed or captured 26 Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders during May and June. Bergner said U.S. forces were better able to attack Al Qaeda in Iraq because of an additional 28,500 troops ordered into the country this year by President Bush, new alliances with local groups such as the Anbar Salvation Council and new support from average Iraqis. He said the U.S. military had received 23,000 tips so far this year from Iraqis, about five times the number received by this time last year. 'Over the past two months, our collective efforts against the Al Qaeda leadership have begun to disrupt their networks and safe havens,' Bergner said at an afternoon news conference in the fortified Green Zone."
The Wall Street Journal Says "The Insurgency Can Be Defeated" But Not Under "The Timetable Now Contemplated By Congress." (subscription required for the whole article) "Nobody claims the Iraqi government is a model of democratic perfection, or that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is the second coming of Lincoln. ... But Mr. Maliki's government is democratic and more inclusive than most reporting suggests, and it is fighting for its life against an enemy that uses car bombs and suicide bombers as its policy instruments. ... To suggest that Iraqis aren't willing to fight for their freedom is an insult to their families. General Petraeus also noted that 'the level of sectarian deaths in Baghdad in June was the lowest in about a year,' evidence that in this key battlefield the surge is making progress. ... More U.S. troops and the revolt of Sunni tribal leaders against al Qaeda are the most hopeful indicators in many months that the insurgency can be defeated. But that isn't going to happen under the timetable now contemplated by Congress."
Even the New York Times strays a bit from it's editorial proclivities in an article that is not unremittingly hostile... White House To Release Interim Assessment Measuring Progress Toward Benchmarks In Iraq. "The Bush administration will assert in the next few days that progress in carrying out the new American strategy in Iraq has been satisfactory on nearly half of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress, according to several administration officials. ... The White House report says the most progress has been achieved in the military realm. The American command’s latest unpublished monthly figures, prepared for the White House report, show a substantial decline in two major categories of violence, the number of Iraqi civilians killed in sectarian violence and casualties from car and truck bomb explosions. ... The report will 'not conclude, as it has been characterized, that this is a colossal failure,' one of the officials said. 'It is a mixed bag, with some areas that are too early to pass judgment on.'"
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