BlackFive

We can't possibly be succeeding in Iraq, so I will treat this piece in today's Washington Post with the skepticism it deserves. Likely it was planted by the Halliburton subsidiary responsible for domestic propaganda.

"It is like night and day from 10 months ago in terms of level of participation and political awareness," said a Canadian election specialist with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, a group affiliated with the U.S. Democratic Party"

Hold on while I get back up in my chair, this was published in the same newspaper that ran stories blowing classified CIA facilities and operations? I'm having frame of reference issues here, I mean if the WaPo is being realistic enough to note that they can't ignore the flowering Iraqi democracy, times truly have changed. And the source they quote is a Canadian member of a group associated with the Democrats? Good Gravy, savor that for a moment folks, this is the story all of us have been screaming about not seeing. Every other sign of progress has been ignored and superseded by the latest concussion, but now, how 'bout this:

"In January, most candidates outside the dominant few parties largely eschewed campaigning, fearing they could be kidnapped or assassinated. Now, even long shots are getting into the act."

How in the world can they do this in the midst of an insurgency that has grown in every news story and currently drapes such a climate of fear over Iraq that it resembles Gotham? Death stalks every doorway, yet the Iraqis plot get out the vote strategies, strange. I would love to believe that enough light has shown on the situation, that out of blatant self-interest, i.e. not appearing willfully ignorant, the media would begin to report what is actually happening. The past year plus have seen a concerted , seemingly purposeful, campaign by the media and the left to ensure the war in Iraq was lost, damn the situation on the ground. "Cindy Sheehan's son was killed, have you no shame warmongers" Yet there were far too many witnesses to our success for the theme to stick, this was no Walter Duranty reporting for the NYT that millions of Ukranians starved to death by Stalin actually hadn't.

Nope, this time the boots on the ground get a voice in the matter, and for some reason they don't seem to agree with the media's self-imposed delusions of quagmires. Go to Milblogging.com and read an in-country blog at random, Iraq, Afghanistan, whatever. You will almost certainly read complaints about all aspects of deployed life, which always sucks, but you will also get an unvarnished look at what is happening. And it just doesn't track with what TV and News back here portray. This and the fact that democracy actually has taken root in the cradle of civilization, at the tip of a spear wielded by America is really screwing with the media/left's worldview. The media know they can't make it go away, so they have to report it. I'm having a Duvall in the morning moment "Smells like.....Victory".