Monday, July 18, 2005

Good News from Iraq

The MSM never misses any bad news from Iraq. The failure to report any good news from Iraq contributes significantly to the idea that Iraq is a "quagmire", a descriptive that the general media and the Left love to use and one suspects either believes is true or want to be true.

Arthur Chrenkoff, a tireless blogger, continuously compiles "The Good News from Iraq" which is available on his blog and is published every two weeks (or so) in the Opinion Journal. Click the title of the post for the latest contribution. Given the brutal bombings this past week, here, in contrast is some good news:

- "An Iraqi army unit captured five suspected terrorists June 28 after an Iraqi citizen told the soldiers about a terrorist safe house in northern Baghdad's Rabi district. The Iraqi soldiers found two rocket-propelled grenade launchers and two RPG rounds in addition to the five suspects." As Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, a Task Force Baghdad spokesman, says: "The Iraqi people are tiring of the insurgency. Both hotline and in-person tips have increased greatly. . . . A big reason for the increase in tips is because of the Iraqi soldiers taking the lead during raids and operations. The Iraqis will talk to their own soldiers much more readily than to coalition forces."

- Thanks to a tip from a local who led the soldiers to the location, the 116th Armor Regiment secured the biggest weapons cache in Kirkuk province on June 29. Says U.S. Army First Lt. John Thew, B Company, Third Battalion 116th Brigade Armor Regiment: "We have found in one day, what usually takes four months."

- The death in an air strike outside Qaim of Abdullah al-Rashud, one of the only three out of Saudi Arabia's top 26 most wanted terrorists still at large.

- A concerted assault against a police station in Baghdad, involving 100 insurgents, beaten back by the Iraqi police on June 24, with 10 insurgents killed and 40 captured. "By 6.30am a police machine-gunner on the roof at Baya'a helped turn the tide, firing volleys which forced attackers to take cover and enabled his comrades to take better positions. Residents of the mixed Shia and Sunni neighbourhood made at least 55 phone calls informing the police of insurgent movements. Some fired on the attackers."


There are many, many more reports.

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