What the Media Isn't Telling Us

You aren't likely to hear this from Katie Copy or the oh so proud of his "profession" Brian Williams, but the "surge" is working--and it's just barely half implemented. It's been two months since the first of the additional troops arrived in Baghdad, and General Petraeus assumed command and put the new strategy in place. And remember this when you hearing the lying media and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) talk, this is a completely new approach to what has been tried in the past. (And yes, I think it took us WAY too long to change, but I'm glad we have.)

In what I think is one of the most important things ever posted on Al Gore's Internets, Big Lizard pointed out this today:

Let's put this into perspective. In Baghdad, civilian deaths dropped 45% in the last two months; throughout all Iraq, 20% fewer civilians were slain...The rise in killings was in parts of Iraq still in the red zone -- or red zone transitioning to pink -- while the drop in killings was in areas transitioning from pink to white.

Just to remind folks of what these terms mean, I refer you to the Arthur Herman article from the Wall Street Journal. I don't know if subscription is required, so let me quote the relevant portion (you can read more, along with our analysis, in How to Win/Lose In Iraq):

Galula divided his own district into zones: "white," where government control was complete or nearly complete; "pink," where insurgents competed with the government for control; and "red," where the insurgents were in complete control. A successful counterinsurgency involved turning pink zones into white zones, then red into pink, through a block-by-block, neighborhood-by-neighborhood struggle to force the terrorists into the shadows.

It's working...and when we get the full force in place (assuming the Dems don't succeed in kneecapping the President and the troops), it's going to work even better. This is a workable strategy led by a man who knows how to win the fight. The only way we can lose in Iraq is to give up and leave before we win.