It certainly would be good -- and add a sense of balance and realism for its readers -- if the Washington Post, when running an article on violence in Iraq since the start of the surge, would discuss the violence within the context of the ongoing efforts and successes of the surge. Yet, after reading the WP article "Sunni Insurgents Ascendant in Iraq's Caldron of Violence," I walked away with the impression that no success has been made, that Sunni's have increased the pace of their attacks since the start of the surge and, if anything, become even more deadly.
In recent months, al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni groups have begun to use more sophisticated tactics, downing U.S. helicopters and staging large attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqi civilians.
. . . .
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt Feb. 25 at Baghdad's Mustansiriya University, where most students are Shiite, killing dozens.
In Sunni-dominated Anbar province, insurgents allied with al-Qaeda in Iraq have clashed with security forces and Sunni tribal groups that oppose them. One such battle occurred Wednesday.
And in a new tactic, insurgents recently have blown up trucks containing chlorine, killing seven and injuring dozens.
On Friday, a car bomb detonated in the Mahdi Army stronghold of Sadr City, killing 10 and injuring 17, the most serious attack in the area in several weeks. . . .
You get the picture, I am sure. The truth of course is that we are having success in Iraq, that for all the talk of insurgernt violence, the insurgents have never won even a platoon sized engagement against U.S. forces, and there is much promising news from the surge -- not the least of which is Sunni's in Anbar fighting alongside Iraqi police to take back their cities, to which the WP only pays passing mention. Unfortunately, one sided articles such as this one from the WP seem to form the overwhelming bulk of what you will find in MSM.
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