"The Surge is Succeeding," says Kagan in WaPo

[Sparkly]

Some observers are reporting the shift. Iraqi bloggers Mohammed and Omar Fadhil, widely respected for their straight talk, say that "early signs are encouraging." The first impact of the "surge," they write, was psychological. Both friends and foes in Iraq had been convinced, in no small part by the American media, that the United States was preparing to pull out. When the opposite occurred, this alone shifted the dynamic.

As the Fadhils report, "Commanders and lieutenants of various militant groups abandoned their positions in Baghdad and in some cases fled the country." The most prominent leader to go into hiding has been Moqtada al-Sadr. His Mahdi Army has been instructed to avoid clashes with American and Iraqi forces, even as coalition forces begin to establish themselves in the once off-limits Sadr City.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030901839.html

First, who are the Fadhils? Well, their blog includes links to Lucianne, Rightwing News, Michelle Malkin, "Stop the ACLU," and more of the same flavor, so that tells you something...
http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/

Second, Al Sadr's militia "was instructed to avoid clashes" by Al Sadr. The recent suicide bombing in Sadr City, however, may cause him to return to increase the fighting.

Third, the problem is not about having US forces "hold" areas because a) they can't be "held" forever and b) fighting factions can wait or move elsewhere.

But, courtesy of the Washington Post presenting "both sides" of the truth, rightwingers now have their dose of phony talking points: the surge is working, and the media just doesn't want to report it. :eyes: