I had saved this as a draft a few months ago.... In hindsight I think this roundup pretty much answers the question, "What's going on Iraq?" I think in short the answer is, "so little, the MSM doesn't cover it anymore". The lack of news from Iraq is good news.

Democrats want failure in Iraq (h/t).

Many Democrats have anticipated that, at best, Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker would present a mixed analysis of the success of the current troop surge strategy, given continued violence in Baghdad. But of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. [House Majority (D) Whip James] Clyburn said that would be "a real big problem for us."

American death toll in Iraq hits 8 month low.

Even the New York Times is now willing to admit the war is winnable, and that the "surge" is working.

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily "victory" but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

American troops have recovered more insurgent weapons in the first six months of this year than all of 2006.

Football victory unites Iraq’s feuding leaders.

Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called the win - shared by a national football squad of Shiite Arab, Sunni Arab, and Kurdish players - "a lesson in how to triumph over the impossible to realise victory." [...]

Iraq’s Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, also praised the team, promising an award of 10,000 US dollars to every player, and 20,000 dollars to Younis Mohammed who scored the winning goal in the 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia. [...]

Tariq al-Hashemi, the country’s Sunni Arab vice president, called on the players to bring their rare show of national unity to the seat of government, where Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni lawmakers have been bickering for weeks.

"There is still hope for a unified, secure and independent Iraq where all live well. There is still an opportunity, thank God," Hashemi said.

"I call on the team and everyone who works with it to come to Baghdad to mount a peaceful demonstration in front of the Green Zone to call on Iraqi politicians to put their differences aside."

Michael Yon reports success in Baqubah, Iraq.

Labels: democracy, Democratic Party, Iraq, Terrorism, Treason