The left-of-center side of the political spectrum questions success in Iraq. Kevin Drum reads Lawrence Kaplan's article on Iraq and comes to the conclusion that at worst, the Bush administration has participated in a disinformation campaign to deceive the American public about Iraq. He states Mr. Kaplan "persuasively endorses" that success in Iraq is "nothing more than standard Bush administration spin" (note: Mr. Kaplan, does not provide any convincing information to back up this point, except for his word. Also, Mr. Kaplan indicates he believes Iraq is a success story, its just that the media may not recognize it.). At best, Mr. Drum sees no good reasons to be positive:

"For myself, I hope things are turning around, but I remain skeptical. Even the official statistics are only mildly encouraging, and the bigger trends working against us are the same as they've always been: thinly spread troops, endemic ethnic and religious strife, too many insurgents and no good way to track them down, lousy infrastructure, and fundamentally different goals separating the U.S. from both ordinary Iraqis and the rest of the Arab world. So: when the next crisis comes — and it will — are we in any better shape to handle it? It doesn't really seem like it."

Mr. Drum does not carefully read the news coming out of Iraq, nor does he have a decent understanding of military affairs or guerrilla warfare. Insurgencies are won and lost on the perception of the legitimacy of the local government. The results of the election cannot be discounted, nor can the increased competence of the Iraqi Security Forces. The goal is for the Iraqi government to provide for the security, American forces should be and are beginning to act in a secondary, support role to the Iraqi Security Forces.

All week we have documented significant successes, including Iraqis fighting back against terrorists, an MP squad overwhelming a numerically superior enemy after being ambushed, the benefits of fighting terrorists on their own turf, and members of the insurgency looking for an exit strategy. More news surfaces today of the success.

Iraqi Security Forces, backed by American helicopter support, captured 131 enemy fighters. This is the direct result of good local intelligence and cooperation between the citizens, Iraqi Security Forces and the Coalition. This could be considered the equivalent of capturing an American battalion of troops unsuspecting on the battlefield.

In the home of the Sunni insurgency and the al Anbar province, "the 2nd Marine Division has detained a total of 147 suspected insurgents since taking the reins from 1st Marine Division." This is less than two weeks after hitting the ground in Western Iraq. The Iraqi military and police forces are instrumental to success:

The raids and operations were conducted throughout the Al Anbar Province with the cooperation of the Iraqi Security Forces.

“Our main effort since our arrival in Al Anbar is to accelerate the training and partnering of the emerging Iraqi Security Forces,” explained Chase.

Chase stated that the ISF provide what they call “eyes and tongues” that allow US forces to discern foreign fighters and strangers. “Most importantly, they are able to interface with the locals and get information Iraqis might be unwilling to share with US personnel for fear of repercussions from the terrorists.”

In Afghanistan, a forgotten corner of the war and the former quagmire of choice; "A man implicated in many of the attacks against Coalition forces in Paktika Province died in a firefight with Afghan and Coalition forces March 22." This is how unpopular insurgencies fizzle out.

Another interesting sign of success is this latest article in the New York Times, discussing the rise of smuggling in Iraq. The article is reminiscent of the plethora of "increased opium production" articles, which appeared just prior to the successful election in Afghanistan.

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Arthur Chrenkoff reports the "media resistance begins to crack after elections." How does he know? The leftist Guardian states "The Iraqi resistance has peaked and is 'turning in on itself'". Philadelphia Flyers fans can hear the ghost of their beloved announcer Gene Hart faintly in the background; "Its all over! Its all over!"

Powerline links to Rowan Scarborough's positive assessment on Iraq.