Jihadists and Progressives: An Affair to Remember

From American Thinker.

General Douglas Macarthur once quipped that it was "...fatal to enter any war without the will to win it". Few epithets more accurately reflect the prevailing default setting of the majority of this country's Democrat contingent, arguably more than two thirds of the mainstream media, and anyone who even remotely identifies with the progressive agenda. In fact, as depressing as it may sound, the left is not merely devoid of the will to win the war in Iraq; they are irrevocably committed to the pursuit of a global exposé of their own country's moral, political, and military failure, with a passion that is rivaled only by our jihadist adversaries with whom we are presently engaged.

Miguel A. Guanipa continues to point out the realities on the ground are getting hard to escape as noted from a recently captured Al Qaeda in Iraq document.

This discrepancy between what actually happens on the ground, and the image to which the media continues to subscribe -- with the full assent from the progressive block -- was most notably exposed in recently released documents that included a 16-page Diary written last October by a local al-Qaeda leader north of Baghdad.

For a full read, click here.

UN confirms "notable" decline in hostilities in Iraq

From Middle East News via Monsters and Critics.

The United Nations acknowledged Monday a marked decline in hostilities in Iraq, helped by the cumulative effect of an increase in US troops, the declared ceasefire by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and the role of Iraq's Awakening Councils. Iraq's neighbours also worked on security-related issues to help achieve the 'notable decline,' Staffan de Mistura, the Swedish diplomat who heads the UN mission in Iraq, told the UN Security Council in a public meeting. 'We cannot ignore the recent improvements both in the security and political situation in Iraq,' he said. But he warned that the main challenges in the war-torn country remain 'largely unaltered.'

Heck, even the UN is acknowledging The Surge is working. I guess Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi cannot be far behind.

I wonder if Presidental hopefuls Clinton and Obama will join with the UN on this fact.

For a full read, click here.

The Surge Effect - The gamble is paying off for Bush and McCain.

From Fred Barnes ath The Weekly Standard.

The match is almost perfect. As the surge in Iraq has succeeded, the presidential campaign of John McCain has risen from the ashes. This is no coincidence, and the message is simple and unmistakable. The surge is now a powerful force in American politics. In the jargon of the 2008 presidential race, it's a game-changer. The surge effect is the result of gains in Iraq well beyond the most optimistic dreams of the surge's advocates. The American military, led by General David Petraeus, has under-promised and over-delivered. Violence has dropped precipitously. So have attacks on Americans and combat deaths. Baghdad has been virtually secured, al Qaeda crushed, and sectarian bloodshed significantly reduced. Provinces once controlled by insurgents are scheduled to be turned over to well-trained Iraqi forces, starting with Anbar in the spring. The war, in short, is being won.

Mr. Barnes explains why it is good for John McCain.

This level of denial about the surge among Democrats is politically dangerous. Democratic voters may be immune to the surge effect, but independents are not. If the surge continues to bring stability to Iraq, independents--who produced the Democratic triumph in the 2006 election--almost certainly will begin to shift their support. They have no partisan commitment to defeat in Iraq. Like most Americans, they prefer victory.

For a full read, click here.