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Trend Indisputable

Anti-war Bush-bashing news agency cries uncle. Sort of:  

The questions now: What caused the drop in violence? And how long can it last?

It’s a mystery. What caused that drop in violence?  After enumerating the many indisputable indicators of less death, less violence, AP opines:

The reasons for the violence drop are less clear.

U.S. commanders cite the surge of nearly 30,000 troops sent by President Bush earlier this year. They also cite a change in tactics, moving more troops out of large camps and into neighborhoods to keep extremists from returning.

… 

But the surge’s success was also due to a revolt against al-Qaida by some Sunni Arabs — first in Anbar province and later in Baghdad. Fearing al-Qaida’s brutal tactics, many fighters from rival insurgent groups such as the Islamic Army in Iraq began cooperating with U.S. forces to drive the extremists from their neighborhoods and villages.

It’s almost as if AP discovered that Sunni revolt all on their own.  Last time I checked, it has been cited and exploited by U.S. commanders going back nearly a year.  What is “less clear” is why AP has such a hard time figuring out why the violence has dropped.

“Indisputable trend” analysis doesn’t actually tackle the “how long can it last” part.  It notes that Iraqi pols are still bickering and embittered Sunnis and Shiites don’t trust each other. But the AP analyst leaves out a major piece of the puzzle.  What happens to all this progress if Congress and/or the next president pulls the plug?  Less clear …

But the trend is indisputable. Next order of business: Undermine the indisputable trend!

All I have to say is al-Qongressional Leadership better watch out.  The Lefti tribes might revolt against their suicidal tactics and their harsh version of Democratia law, and recognize their interests are better served by aligning themselves with U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Topics: Iraq, media, pols

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:03 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2007

5 Responses to “Trend Indisputable”

1. saltydog Says:
   November 14th, 2007 at 1:06 pm

   The DhimCong leadership are liars–and that is the least of their vices. Their machinations have caused untold deaths of both Iraqis and American and coalition forces. Only by completely evading the facts, which these people are fully aware of, can one say they have not passed over into premeditated murder. Being “progressive,” they have no problem with breaking eggs to make their political omelet, but this revolting euphemism doesn’t hide the fact that we are talking about breaking human heads.

   They are aided and abetted by the MSM, with few exceptions.
   This article from Investor’s Business Daily talks about what has happened to the news coverage since things began turning around:

   http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=279763636205188

   “Dramatic Turn For Better In Iraq (Cue Sound of Crickets Chirping)”

   Here, as the chart below shows, the issue is the lack of coverage when news turns from bad to good.

   The surge of 30,000 new troops that began in February and peaked in June has been followed by stunning success in Iraq.

   Yet coverage of the Iraq policy debate has tailed off since midyear, when the troop buildup that was announced in January was completed. In other words, the better the news has gotten out of Iraq, the less it’s been discussed in the US media.

   Earlier in the year, the Iraq debate was the top story week in and week out, grabbing from 11% to 15% of coverage, according to an index complied by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and monitoring 48 mainstream news outlets.

   Over the first six months, and until the surge was in place, the Iraq debate averaged 11% of the coverage. Since then, it’s averaged about 7% per week–a decline of 36% ….

   Reent IBD/TIPP polls show most Americans still don’t believe the good news in Iraq. And earlier Pew poll taken immediately after Petraeus’ positive testimony found 54% of Americans believed the military effort in Iraq “was not going well” and 61% thought our efforts there were either making things “worse” or having “no effect.” Neither, of course, is true.

   How could this be? It may well be because they neither see it in their daily newspapers, nor on the nightly TV news.

2. Anonymous Hollywood Blacklist Dodger Says:
   November 14th, 2007 at 1:10 pm

   I’ve often argued with my Left leaning friends that irrational Bush hatred (leading to opposing everything his administration does) was a really, really, REALLY bad idea.

   This will most likely lead to a reversal of political fortunes on their parts.

   I’m not exactly thrilled with this, as democracy (like capitalism) only works well when there’s vigorous competition… But given the apparently suicidal bent of the Left, I guess sub-standard is preferable to no-standard.

3. RebeccaH Says:
   November 14th, 2007 at 1:51 pm

   What happens to all this progress if Congress and/or the next president pulls the plug? Less clear …

   The Democrats in Congress have already admitted that they are indifferent to genocide if we pull our troops out. It seems to me that if Iraq managed to remain stable, they would ignore it, and if Iraq collapsed into bloody chaos, they wouldn’t hesitate to express their gratification (and relief) by blaming it on Bush. Win-win for them.

4. The Anchoress » Blog Archive » Good news leaks past the embargo on good news… Says:
   November 16th, 2007 at 6:50 pm

   [...] - not yet - but every day it seems we get a little closer to victory. These might be called little hopeful signs - little victories. People are starting to realize that the surge is working, but [...]

5. Media Mythbusters Blog » Blog Archive » Good news leaks past the embargo on good news… Says:
   November 16th, 2007 at 8:08 pm

   [...] - not yet - but every day it seems we get a little closer to victory. These might be called little hopeful signs - little victories. People are starting to realize that the surge is working, but they’re [...]

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