Iraq Today

An optimistic headline from Iraq surfaced today.  Let's assume that it's accurate and let's hope that we are, finally, seeing the begin of a trend in declining casualties.  That IS good news.  However (and you knew I was going to toss that in, didn't you?), there are simply too many variables to start "high-fiving".  The commenters in the following post are quick to provide some of those variables.  It makes for an interesting debate--

Will Liberals Please Just Admit That Things are Getting Better in Iraq?

You know, you liberals have been looking rather foolish over the past month still trying to paint a bad picture about Iraq - keep it up much longer, and you'll go from "foolish" to "stupid": "BAGHDAD - October is on [...]

Of course, one of the variables you might want to consider is this:

Turkey Joins the War on Terror in Iraq

What great news. Turkey is now fighting the terrorists in Iraq! Well it would be great news except that unfortunately the terrorists Turkey is fighting in Iraq are not the ones (i.e., Al Qaeda in Iraq) which President Bush and General Petraeus told Congress are the main cause of the violence "over there." Instead, as many predicted, Turkey's military has now launched cross border attacks against PKK stongholds in Northern Iraq in response to recent violent attacks by PKK fighters based in Northern Iraq which killed and/or wounded a number [...]

Or, maybe this:

US Troop Deaths up over 2006 Air Strikes Rise Four Times Iraqi Cities under Curfew

...But I think it is way too early to write Iraq off as an issue. In fact, given the current crisis at the northern border with Turkey, it is a little bit bizarre to suggest that things have all calmed down, either over there or domestically. First of all, the assertion that US troop deaths have fallen is extremely misleading. In fact, It is only late October and [...]

And, isn't this a nice turn of events?  Well, we wanted an independent government...

Breaking: Iraq Revokes All Contractor Immunity

The metaphorical statue of L. Paul Bremer III has come crashing down. Today the Iraqi government formally revoked one of the Coalition Provisional Authority's enduring vestiges -- a decree of immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts for U.S. security contractors [...]

And, finally, another resignation:

More Blackwater Sewage

AP via MSNBC: State Dept. security chief to resign in aftermath of Blackwater shooting WASHINGTON - The State Department’s security chief announced his resignation on Wednesday in the wake of last month’s deadly Blackwater USA shooting incident in Baghdad and growing questions about the use of private contractors in Iraq. Richard Griffin, the assistant secretary of state [...]

Tags: Iraq War, Baghdad, Casualties

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