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

Iraq has won the Asian Cup with a 1-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia.

It's a beautiful time for Iraqi's, as they can come together and celebrate their country's achievement. Across the political and cultural spectrum Iraqi's are celebrating the football teams victory.

Iraq's national football team should be an example to all Iraqi's. They've demonstrated that Iraq can compete and win when they work together and put aside their differences.

Unfortunately, Canada does not have such reason to celebrate. None of the Canadians playing in the Canadian Open managed to produce a run for the title. Stephen Ames was the top Canadian (sort of), finishing at a respectable seven under par. Two shots behind him at five under was Canadian favorite Mike Weir. Yet another year of disappointment for Canadians who want to see a Canadian win the countries most prestigious championship.

Currently, Jim Furyk is maintaining a two shot lead over Hunter Mahan, and a three shot lead over Vijay Singh. With three holes left to play, Furyk is in a strong position to win. While Mahan may be a little green to pull of a come-from-behind victory, Vijay has the potential to make it happen.

Update: Jim Furyk is the Canadian Open golf Champion. Vijay mounted a come-back, but fell one shot short, needing a birdie on the 18th but coming up shy with a par. Congratulations to Jim Furyk on back-to-back victories at the Canadian Open!

Labels: golf, Iraq, sports

So, now the UN wants the US to stay in Iraq. The Iraqi government wants US forces to stay in Iraq. The Republican party in the US wants to finish the job in Iraq. These groups all see that if Iraq is ever to become a peaceful nation, it will be with a lot of help from American troops.

So it boggles the mind to see Democrats falling over each other calling for withdrawal. They seem to be the only party involved that is more than happy to let the people of Iraq suffer in their current state. Not to mention that they don't see a problem in letting Al-Queda in Iraq create a new state-sponsor of terror.

Labels: Democratic Party, Iraq, Republican Party, United Nations

The CBC's brand of activist journalism is tired and old. Two weeks ago Kate at SDA nailed the CBC for photoshopping an image of Toronto to make it appear more polluted.

This week Stephen Taylor has caught the CBC slipping images of Canadian soldiers into reports on Iraq. The CBC intentionally tries to get viewers to confuse the Afghan mission and the war in Iraq. Worse yet, it implies that somehow George W. Bush's veto yesterday has some effect on our troops, which it does not.

When will the CBC stop misrepresenting the truth in order to promote it's own agenda? The CBC can't be trusted. As the proverb goes, "fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"

Labels: Afghanistan, CBC, Iraq, Republican Party

Current prince and heir to the Liberal throne Justin Trudeau (h/t SDA).

His [Trudeau] two-month campaign to win grassroots support might have been the hardest work he has done in his 35 years. And of the three candidates' organizations, his did the best job of getting his supporters to the nominating meeting and keeping them there through a wait in line of up to two hours to vote.

In contrast we have Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne.

The head of the British army said yesterday he has personally decided that Prince Harry will serve with a combat unit in Iraq, where 100 American troops and 12 British soldiers were killed in April.

Prince Harry's bravery and determination should be remembered for a long long time. The Royal family have a deep and proud military history. Pierre Trudeau will be remembered most for his economic ineptness.

Labels: Britain, Iraq, Liberal Party

The hunt for Saddam's WMD isn't over yet. From The Spectator:

'Apparently Saddam had the last laugh and donated his secret stockpile to benefit Iran's nuclear weapons programme. With a little technical advice from Beijing, Syria is now enriching the uranium, Iran is making the missiles, North Korea is testing the warheads, and the White House is hiding its head in the sand.'

Weapons inspector Dave Gaubatz is claiming to have found Saddam's stockpiles of chemical weapons, and evidence of nuclear activity in Iraq.

It's not a secret that Saddam had a nuclear program. Will these revelations quite all those who call George W. Bush a liar? Probably not, but it should take a bit of wind out of their sails.

Labels: Iran, Iraq, Republican Party

More trouble brewing with Iran.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has asked Iran for "a full explanation" for the detention of 15 British servicemen seized at gunpoint by Iranian forces.

The Government has demanded the "immediate and safe return" of the sailors and Marines who were taken hostage in Iraqi territorial waters.

They were taking part in a routine operation boarding merchant ships when they were taken captive by Iranian naval vessels.

h/t

Labels: Iran, Iraq

Unwelcome news for those who think that the American "security crackdown" in Iraq is a bad idea (link).

The number of bodies found so far this month in Baghdad — most of them shot and showing signs of torture — has dropped by nearly 50 percent to 494 as of Monday night, compared with 954 in January and 1,222 in December, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.

Since the crackdown was formally launched Feb. 14, a total of 164 bodies had been found in the capital as of Monday, according to AP figures, which are compiled from police reports. The AP count showed 390 bodies were discovered in the same period in January.

If this doesn't render moot the cries of Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha, I don't know what will.

Labels: Iraq, Republican Party