Good news.

I most often post news stories and editorials with a left leaning bent, so here's an excerpt from one with a more positive spin on things here.

I'm cautiously optimistic about a good outcome. Not ready to discuss the "was it worth it?" question. And I still have no idea what anybody means by "victory". Everyone seems to have their own definition.

Let's hear it for good news from Iraq
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/11/25/lets_hear_it_for_good_news_from_iraq/
By Jeff Jacoby
Globe Columnist / November 25, 2007

THE NEWS from Iraq has been so encouraging in recent months that last week even the mainstream media finally sat up and took notice. Can the Democratic Party be far behind?

In a story titled "Baghdad Comes Alive," Rod Nordland reports in the current Newsweek on the heartening transformation underway in the Iraqi capital:

"Returning to Baghdad after an absence of four months," he writes, "I can actually say that things do seem to have gotten better, and in ways that may even be durable . . . There hasn't been a successful suicide car bombing in Baghdad in five weeks . . . Al Qaeda in Iraq is starting to look like a spent force, especially in Baghdad."

The signs of life, Nordland acknowledges "grudgingly" - his word - are undeniable.

"Emerging from our bunkers into the Red Zone, I see the results everywhere. Throughout Baghdad, shops and street markets are open late again, taking advantage of the fine November weather. Parks are crowded with strollers, and kids play soccer on the streets. Traffic has resumed its customary epic snarl. . . . The Shorja bazaar in old Baghdad, hit by at least six different car bombs killing hundreds in the last year, is again crowded with people among the narrow tented stalls. On nearby Al-Rasheed Street, the famous booksellers are back in business . . . People are buying alcohol again - as they always had in Baghdad, until religious extremists forced many neighborhood liquor shops to close."