Good then we can begin withdrawing our troops to our bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and let the Iraqis take care of their own business

Awe isn't that adorable...cum ba ay..Iraq!!! Now how about the NON-MSM?

04/22/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb kills 4 U.S. soldiers in Iraq
A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers on combat patrol south of Baghdad on Saturday, the U.S. military said in a statement. No further details were available.

04/22/06 AP: U.S., Iraqi Forces Fight Ramadi Insurgents
U.S. and Iraqi forces fought an hour-long gunbattle with insurgents Saturday in this city west of the Iraqi capital, firing automatic weapons from rooftops at small guerrilla teams maneuvering around them in alleyways and an abandoned fairground.

04/22/06 AP: Gunmen kill civilian riding in a car
In Baghdad...Gunmen killed a civilian riding in a car, and a roadside bomb wounded two policemen, police said.

04/22/06 AP: Polimen killed in Azamiyah district in Baghdad
In Baghdad's northern district of Azamiyah, unidentified gunmen shot up a police patrol, killing one officer.

04/22/06 Reuters: Three Policemen wounded by roadside bomb
Three policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol in western Baghdad, police said.

04/22/06 Reuters: Gunmen kill municipal employee and civilian in Hawija
A municipal employee and a civilian were killed by gunmen in the town of Hawija about 60 km (40 miles) southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk, police said.

04/22/06 BNA: Security commander survives roadside bomb attack
In a separate incident, security commander General Salam al- Maamouri survived an attempt on his life when a roadside bomb exploded in front of his convoy in Khatona, near al- Mahaweel.

04/22/06 AP: Police find body floating in the Tigris River
In Kut, 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police found a body floating in the Tigris River on Saturday. The victim showed signs of torture, including a severely damaged head, said Hadi al-Ittabi, an employee of the Kut Forensic Center.

04/22/06 fijitimes: Fijians recover in Iraq hospital
THE two Fijian security guards who were injured during an ambush in northern Iraq are recovering at a US military hospital after an emergency operation. Sitiveni Qeleti and Taniela Toganara were shot by insurgents while travelling...
04/22/06 walb: APD Officer injured in Iraq
Staff Sergeant Ernest Derrick Thompson...HUMVEE struck an Improvised Explosive Devices shortly after he returned to Iraq after his December leave. "I got a lot of scratches to my face, broke my finger and messed up both of my knees,"

04/22/06 AP: Nine bullet-ridden bodies found around Baghdad
The bullet-ridden bodies of nine Iraqis were found in several locations in and around Baghdad on Saturday...the victims were blindfolded with their hands and legs bound in rope. Some appeared to have been tortured, and one had been decapitated

04/22/06 AP: Bombings in Northern Iraq Market Kills 2
Suspected insurgents set off two bombs in a public market in northern Iraq on Saturday, the second one timed to hit emergency crews arriving at the scene, and the blasts killed at least two Iraqis and wounded 17, police said.

04/22/06 AP: 2005 worldwide terror attacks exceeded 10,000
Terror attacks and kidnappings worldwide exceeded 10,000 for the first time last year, propelled in part by a surge in Iraq, according to government figures to be released soon.

04/22/06 AP: Body of beheaded Briton near Fallujah
The decapitated body of a British engineer Kenneth Bigley is buried in a ditch at an entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah, the lawyer of a suspected al-Qaida militant who allegedly ordered the beheading said Saturday

04/22/06 AFP: Iraq women lawmakers demand key posts
Women members of the Iraqi parliament demanded on Saturday that they be given key posts in the legislature or government, accusing male MPs of "marginalising women." "We refuse to be marginalised. We think that women...

I agree Mark... this is a very important step. It seems now that it may not be long before it can be said that "the war is officially over." troops will slowly reduce. In fact, I heard another big chunk of Iraq was turned over to Iraqi forces in a ceremony last week.

Just in time to relieve our troops of police activity in Iraq to focus on Iran.

Mark,

Good news for Iraq... Bad news for the terrorists... The worse kind of news for liberal Democrats!

Although far from certain, it is obviously potentially good news for a stable and democratic nation that can help stabilize the middle east; although that remains to be seen and will take considerable time. I just hope the Shiites don't side too much with Iran. Hopefully, the Kurds and Sunnis will work together to make sure that doesn't happen.

Let's hope they can quickly form some type of unified government and really take on the terrorists and insurgents. If those can be brought under control and eventually stopped, it would rank right up there as a contender for the Democrat's worst nightmare.

I'm sure liberal Democrats will put the most negative spin on it they can. After all, we wouldn't want those terrorists to give up hope and believe they might lose. They need all of the encouragement they can to continue fighting against our troops and blowing up the Iraqi children... along with their parents!

muirgeo,

Have you found any good news in Iraq? Perhaps a tiny sliver? Surely something good happened. Perhaps you could check with Fox news -- they might have something.

DAV,

No. This does not mean we can start immediately withdrawing our troops, nor does it mean we want to start withdrawing our troops. It may well be a strategic advantage to remain in Iraq as long as they want us there. I will leave that up to our military planners and strategists who have access to much more information, military expertise, and planners than I do.

Of course, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, President Bush, and Members of Congress will be looking at their decisions and weighing our options. They will be looking at what is in America's best military and security interests, both near term and in the future. Fortunately, they won't be looking at it totally as a political ploy the way Democrats will.

But... that is down the road. Much remains to be done. And everything can change -- for the better or worse -- overnight!

Let's pray it is for the better. Our troops deserve it! The Iraqi people deserve it! America deserves it!

AAR

phnxbmed,

Good point!!!!!

And besides, since it joins Iran and we won't even need ships to transport our troops and tanks!

AAR

Let's hope they can quickly form some type of unified government and really take on the terrorists and insurgents.

Yea, lets hope 3 societies that have been at odds for 1000 years will meet together and throw together a strong working government in like 2 weeks. I'm sure they will be able to cooperate with each other and make consessions to unreasonable demands. I'm not being negative I'm being sarcastic, and I'm not against the Iraqi government because I'm against America succeeding, I'm just not comfortable with saying the Utah Jazz are going to win the NBA finals, you know what I mean? I don't have confidence in Iraq uniting because they have never been united in their entire history except for when the British created Iraq.

Your vision and hope for a successful and peaceful Iraq is nice, but it is highly unreasonable. Thats why people are so negative. You are giving David the odds against Goliath, and thought kind of sweet in a kitten way, it is a very stupid bet.

The other nice thing that's happening in Iraq is that we are building a gianormous Embassy costing close to 1 billion dollars and being built by 3 Kuwaiti contractors. Mean while funding for rebuilding Iraqs infrastructure has all but been cut off. the embassy is a fortress like structure the largest of its kind. As big as all of Vatican City and on the banks of the Tigris river.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060414/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_new_embassy

Good job Rummy and Mr. Decider in Chief. That should ease tensions in the area.

Al Qaeda has admitted that they can't keep up their presence in Iraq much longer. Current estimates seem to suggest that the Iraqi Armed Forces will be ready to handle themselves by the end of the year. The Dems have to face it, we are in the final stages of the war. I guess was able to handle the "quagmire" better than they expected. Big surprise there.

steve,

RE: "... lets hope 3 societies that have been at odds for 1000 years will meet together and throw together a strong working government in like 2 weeks..."

I don't think you got that thought from the standard liberal playbook. It shows you have some understanding of the effort the Iraqi people face. Perhaps you can help explain it to your liberal friends.

I would like to see the Iraqis form a working government in two weeks, but history and facts indicate this would be overly optimistic. That's why I used the word "quickly" -- a relative term -- rather than a specific timeframe.

Liberals and conservatives can't even agree on things here in America, and we have been at it for over 200 years. The World Trade Center was destroyed in September 2001, a year and a half before the Iraq war, and we still haven't reached an agreement on what will be done with or built on those few blocks in New York City! Considering the magnitude and complexity involved in forming a new democratic government and rebuilding a nation in Iraq (as compared to reaching agreement on plans for the World Trade Center), the Iraqis are making excellent progress indeed!

I do have some hope too, that the Iraqi people are getting tired of the daily bombings and terrorist attacks, whether they are Kurds, Sunni, or Shiite. Most are tired of the terrorists trying to take over their country. The Iraqi people are smart and most would like to get on with normal lives.

muirgeo,

See. You CAN come up with good news! I had no idea we were building an embassy-fortress like that in Iraq. It does mean we have plans for a long term relation with Iraq and possibly will have an ally in the region. Thanks!

AAR

Muirgeo,

So, we should maybe operate the US embassy out of a couple trailers?

Mark

Yes, operate the US embassy out of a couple trailers. I believe there are thousands of them available from FEMA.

No Mark but the fact that its a fortress should tell you something, the fact that it's being built by Kuwaities should tell you some thing and the fact that we've basically prioritized our Embassy Fortress building over re-building the Iraqi peoples infrasturcture should also tell you something.

No. This does not mean we can start immediately withdrawing our troops, nor does it mean we want to start withdrawing our troops.

Silly DAV! After we try nuking Iran and realize those little rascals aren't stupefied and are actually fighting back, why we will have our battle hardened troops already there.

What's another rotation? Perpetual war, a Republican orgasm!

Hey Shoe,

Except it isn't al Qeada that's the problem -- never has been, in Iraq (despite government attempts to overemphasize its importance).

The insugency, and now, civil war is homegrown -- helped along by the policies of the worst administration in modern American history.

Oh, and by the way -- the story has been leading the "MSM" news for two days -- one of another "milestones" that Bush keeps pulling out of his bag of talking points.