Oh no! We might succeed

The latest hand-wringing among some in the media involves the question of whether the American press has failed the public by moving the Iraq "war" story off front pages. The underlying canard is that the media has stopped caring about American casualties because they have become so "routine." This is laughable. You can bet that major media would be all over the Iraq story if it were just a little bloodier. The hatred for President Bush among most major media is intense and they would love to heap more scorn upon him if Iraq were a mess. Unfortunately (for sickos who want us to fail in Iraq), the news coming out of that country is quite good, prompting at least one New York City newspaper to declare imminent victory. I wouldn't go that far. Iraq remains tricky, but violence is down across the board. For U.S. troops, for civilians, between Islamic sects, etc. And, Iraqi forces have stepped up boldly to challenge remaining extremists in the country. Al-Qaida is wasted. All of this goes against the grain of those who didn't like the pre-emptive war in Iraq nor our long commitment there. So little of the good news is coming from most media. Even among those who are neutral or lean toward the policy, Iraq has moved off the radar for the most part. It's the old line about the media not telling you about the number of planes that landed safely today. This is all OK. In the end what matters is the success of the United States in Iraq, and that nation's ability to help us defeat Islamic extremists and serve as an example for oppressed people in the region.