On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, the media has been buzzing about how Iraq has faded as a headline. "The American people are tired of hearing about it." "There's nothing new to say." Blah. Blah. Blah. The fact is that since things have turned around, the mainstream media has lost interest because it would mean saying that the Leader of the Free World did something right with The Surge. Iraq is still front and center for someone: al Qaeda. Realism In Iraq By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2008 4:20 PM PT War On Terror: As John McCain and Dick Cheney observe progress of the surge in person, new revelations show how important Iraq is to al-Qaida. Electing a Democrat president would squander our gains. Top Democrats are so committed to the position that liberating Iraq will go down as a monumental blunder that the most powerful tsunami of facts will not change their minds. Meeting this week with top Iraqi politicians as well as with Gen. David Petraeus, Sen. McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, provided a strong dose of realism about our forces' future there. "We could have a presence here for many years," McCain told ABC News on Monday. "We've been in Germany for 60 years. But the point is, if we can reduce and eliminate American casualties, then Americans will be satisfied with an American presence here." Cheney, who traveled separately from McCain, said at a press conference with Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, "We've come a long way in five years, and it's been well worth the effort." The vice president also warned against a premature pullout as planned by Democratic hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. McCain and Cheney both delivered the heartening but challenging news about Iraq: Contrary to the expectations of all the supposed experts, U.S. forces engineered what Cheney called a "remarkable turnaround." And as McCain let it be known, we may have to stay a long time — but in the stable and truly free Iraq that is within our grasp and that would mean few if any U.S. casualties. Amid this straight talk on Iraq comes news of just how important the country has been all along in the eyes of al-Qaida.

A new ABC News poll finds a surge in optimism in Iraq: Improved security and economic conditions have reversed Iraqis’ spiral of despair, sharply improving hopes for the country’s future. Yet deep problems remain, in terms of security, living conditions, reconciliation and political progress alike. Fifty-five percent of Iraqis say things in their own lives are going well, well up from 39 percent as recently as August. More, 62 percent, rate local security positively, up 19 points. And the number who expect conditions nationally to improve in the year ahead has doubled, to 46 percent in this new national poll by ABC News . . . . As good as this is, the poll ...

From his post in Baghdad, recent Johns Hopkins graduate in strategic studies and international economics, Staff Sergeant Anthony Diaz says that there is one inescapable conclusion: "The surge has worked." Hard-Won Progress In Baghdad By Anthony J. Diaz Saturday, March 15, 2008; Page A13 BAGHDAD -- Since I arrived here last August, I have been struck by four things: the financial commitment we have made to reconstruction; the precipitous decline in violence; the inklings of representative government; and the small yet significant progress in communal relations between the mostly Shiite Iraqi army and the predominantly Sunni residents of this area. One often reads of the chaos plaguing Iraq. Yet the media accounts only infrequently seem to grasp the successes being achieved. My combat outpost sits along the Tigris River in a section of Baghdad known as Adhamiyah.

The Wall Street Journal notes today that "sentiment" on Iraq is changing. Funny how facts change sentiments: Sentiment on Iraq Is Changing By JOHN D. MCKINNON March 5, 2008; Page A13 WASHINGTON -- The perception that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq has succeeded is changing some public views of the war, potentially blunting Democrats' political edge on the issue. Americans continue to judge the nearly five-year-old U.S. invasion of Iraq as a mistake, by margins that have barely budged. But in a notable shift, public perceptions of the current U.S. military effort there "have become significantly more positive over the past several months," says a recent report from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. It shows that almost half of Americans think the war effort is going well, and that the U.S. should keep its troops there, at least for the time being. Other polls echo the trend to varying degrees. The results suggest that -- barring another reversal in conditions -- Democrats' ability to use the war as a political weapon could be somewhat curtailed, particularly when the general-election campaign begins. In part because of the shift in sentiment on the war, Democrats have turned more frequently to other issues -- particularly the weakening economy. That has been true both on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill. The recent change in public opinion appears pronounced among independent voters, and independents who see progress in Iraq are much more likely to support Republican John McCain, at least so far. In the short run, the change also could be helping Hillary Clinton

From Fox News via Amy Proctor, the story of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Spanky Gibson, an amputee who has returned to Iraq because: "This is where we were 232 years ago as a nation. Now they’re (Iraq) starting a new nation. I’m back here to help in any way I can." God bless and protect Gunnery Sgt. Gibson.

We look forward to the day Petraeus takes his place on Mt. Rushmore (he will be POTUS 2012 to 2020) and the U.S.S. Odierno patrols the seas. From Fred and Kimberly Kagan at The Weekly Standard: The Patton of Counterinsurgency With a sequence of brilliant offensives, Raymond Odierno adapted the Petraeus doctrine into a successful operational art. by Frederick W. Kagan and Kimberly Kagan 03/10/2008, Volume 013, Issue 25 Great commanders often come in pairs: Eisenhower and Patton, Grant and Sherman, Napoleon and Davout, Marlborough and Eugene, Caesar and Labienus. Generals David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno can now be added to the list. It's natural to assume that successful pairs of commanders complement each other's personalities (the diplomatic Eisenhower and the hard-charging Patton, for example) or that the junior partner is merely executing the vision of the other (Sherman seen as acting on Grant's orders). In reality, the task of planning and conducting large-scale military operations is too great for any single commander, no matter how talented his staff. The subordinate in every successful command pair has played a key role in designing and implementing the campaign plan.

Answer: Key al Qaeda leaders in Iraq: Key Al Qaeda Figure in Iraq Is Killed, U.S. Says By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 2, 2008 BAGHDAD (AP) -- A U.S. military helicopter fired a guided missile to kill a wanted al-Qaida in Iraq leader from Saudi Arabia who was responsible for the bombing deaths of five American soldiers, a spokesman said Sunday. U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said Jar Allah, also known as Abu Yasir al-Saudi, and another Saudi known only as Hamdan, were both killed Wednesday in Mosul. According to the military, al-Saudi conducted numerous attacks against Iraqi and U.S. forces, including a Jan. 28 bomb attack that killed the five U.S. soldiers. In that attack, insurgents blasted a U.S. patrol with a roadside bomb and showered survivors with gunfire from a mosque. The soldiers died in the explosion, the deadliest on American forces since six soldiers perished Jan. 9 in a booby-trapped house north of Baghdad. Intelligence gathered in the Mosul area led the U.S. military to al-Saudi, who was in a car with Hamdan. A precision helicopter strike killed both and destroyed their vehicle. U.S. forces then confirmed the men's identities. Smith said their deaths brought to 142 the number of al-Qaida insurgents killed or captured in Mosul since the end of January. Al-Saudi was the man who headed up the al-Qaida network in southeast Mosul, an insurgent hotbed where U.S. forces wage daily battles against the group. ''Mosul is the center of al-Qaida's terrorist activities today.

Yes. You read that right. Even Angelina Jolie supports the surge. From the WaPo: Staying to Help in Iraq We have finally reached a point where humanitarian assistance, from us and others, can have an impact. By Angelina Jolie Thursday, February 28, 2008; 1:15 PM The request is familiar to American ears: "Bring them home." But in Iraq, where I've just met with American and Iraqi leaders, the phrase carries a different meaning. It does not refer to the departure of U.S. troops, but to the return of the millions of innocent Iraqis who have been driven out of their homes and, in many cases, out of the country. In the six months since my ...

If CNN is reporting this, then you know this is really good news: BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Twenty-nine U.S. troops died in Iraq during February, the third-lowest total of the nearly five-year-old war, according to Pentagon figures compiled by CNN. At the same time, Iraq's Interior Ministry issued figures on Saturday that showed the number of civilian deaths increased 36 percent to 633 from 466 last month. But the civilian death toll was lower than last February's. The lowest number of U.S. troop deaths came in February 2004, when 20 troops died. The second lowest toll, at 23, was in December 2007. Violence has dropped across Iraq over the last few months, and the troop death ...

Andrew Sullivan has a military correspondent who makes some great points on why we should be optimistic on Iraq: The Case For Iraq Optimism by Andrew Sullivan 01 Mar 2008 02:12 pm My military reader in Iraq (who will remain anonymous) offers some more detailed independent evidence to back up his view that Sunni-Shia reconciliation is happening, and that partition or withdrawal would be mistaken: Here are some independent sources you can consult if needed regarding Sunni-Shia cooperation. You can find all of these in the public domain (although to get the full import of what is going on it would help a great deal if you spoke Arabic or could have a reliable translator translate it). ...