More Good News/Bad News: Crittenden

[Annie]

There are links to all:

http://www.julescrittenden.com/2007/03/08/good-news-bad-news-6/

Good News Bad News

Hope lost, hope maintained, dreams and longing on International Women’s Day in Iraq.

It’s time for the news:

Bad news, Dem Cong war plan still calls for surrender. Good news, they probably won’t be able to agree on this either. “Son of Slow-Bleed” if you will. Meanwhile, Instapundit informs us the Senate figures its safe to let our guard down at the border.

When the big news in Baghdad is politics, that’s good news. Your essential on-the-ground take from ITM.

Sorry, can’t help it, it’s a surge thing … catblogging from Baghdad.

Gen. Good News Petraeus, hisself.

Same news, different filters:

White House highlights, via Michelle.

ABC: “Encouraging signs” but “some sensational attacks inevitably will continue to take place.”

Reuters: Big type, “No military solution.” Small type, “military action is necessary.”

Beeb: “Tough days” and a need to “control the demons” and the “thugs with no soul.”

Good news: No need at present for more troops than those already enroute.

Great news slightly at odds with the above: another 2,200 military police now approved to help deal with influx of detainees. Sounds like they’re expecting a lot of detainees, on top of several hundred terrorism suspects already scooped in the last month.

Bad News for Surrender Camp: Military commander in Iraq says they’ll need surge troops there through February 2008. That might conflict with plans some people have to get lot of them out of there minutes after Feb ‘08, if not sooner. (AP link above notes Dem Cong is now looking at fall ‘08 drop-dead date for the kickoff of the big Iraqi genocide).

Libby guilty. News that is neither good nor bad, rather floats out there in a meaningless nether state of neither good-nor-badness … except for its effect on Libby. A lot of people would like this tangential conviction to be an indictment of Dick Cheney. Their case is laid out here.

There, there’s the ridiculous news that a juror who wants him pardoned of the crime she found him guilt of because he didn’t commit the “actual crime” which, of course, never happened. Turns out a pointless Washington scandal can have serious consequences.

Baghdad by the numbers is good news, death still down but, bad news, Sunni terrorists eager to stay in the game crank up the murder outside the city.

It’s terrible and tragic enough when they blow up people. It’s poignant and sad when a favorite bookmarket is splattered with blood and littered with scraps of pages. But to write wistfully about the Saddam regime in the aftermath is obscene.

Bad news. You don’t have to go to Iraq to find Muslim on Muslim intimidation.

Good news: Young American grunt in Baghdad wins Milbloggies, Best Army Blog. Teflon Don at Acute Politics is the best American combat writer currently operating in Iraq. There are other people doing great work there. Don’s company commander, Badgersforward and Michael Yon among them. But Teflon Don picks up where Michael at A Day in Iraq left off. Unpolished but literary and highly evocative blasts of life and death and discovery in Iraq, from a grunt’s perspective. Kid’s got an eye and an ear. Go to Acute Politics and read everything. Be sure not to miss War Cocaine, How Human Are We, The Road to Hell, What’s Up Doc, Falluja Nights, Walking on History. Then, don’t forget to revisit A Day in Iraq, and check his favorites roll for “A Brief Uncertainty,” “The Horror,” among others. To steal a phrase from the grunts, it’s all good.

Good news: They’re embedding cartoonists.

Bad news for Brian Williams. Fayerouz isn’t impressed.

But, good news, Conf Yank likes what he hears from Brian.

Bad news. Al-Qaeda wants Prince Harry. Good news. Prince Harry and his pals are getting ready.

Good news; Michael Yon on 1,225 miles of bad Iraqi road, reports GI morale is good, uplifted not least by amazement at the structure of Geraldo’s moustache.

Iraqpundit is tired of some people always looking for the bad news.

JFK School plan vs. Iraqi genocide: pretend its a Bush scare tactic, ignore surge progress, offer asylum to all takers, pull out US troops, and sternly warn Sunni terrorists and Shiite militias that they must behave in our absense, or else.

Get me rewrite! A raid on Iraqi govt spy agency turns up torture victims. This would be bad news for Tony Blair, but he’s out of there. He says Iraq as an issue “goes with me” but apparently that won’t be the case. British voters and pols will still need a stiff upper lip.

Forget the news, try the rumors about that rape victim. Bad.

Bad News from Omar: The Mahdi are isn’t fighting, just spreading vicious rumors against Americans. But he’s got good news, too: along with cutting deep into the violence, the Iraqi authorities have launched a Giuliani-like quality of life push, to include clearing out illegal roadblocks, kiosks, etc., and cops that actually chase down suspect vehicles.

Milestone passed! More than 3,000 dead terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan since Jan. 1, 2006! How come no headlines?

Good news as US takes out al-Qaeda anti-aircraft weapons.

Out of Iraq for a minute: Happy Birthday Osama! Robert Fisk gets wistful about his cavedwelling pal reaching the half-century mark: Has he grown wiser? Really, is there any point in hunting down this mass murderer?

Good news, bad news and some practical advice on Iraq from Bing West at Small Wars Journal.

That’s the news and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Topics: Good News Bad News

Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:53 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2007