Progress in Iraq

Perhaps the most under reported story of recent years is the turn around in Iraq. In this country, there is no constituency for charting the progress there—both main political parties and most of the media just wish Iraq would go away.

But the news from there is too important to ignore. I’d urge everyone to read this tour d’horizon from Robert Reid, the AP bureau chief in Baghdad who has been reporting from Iraq since 2003. His judgement is that “Iraq is by almost any measure safer today than at any time in the past three years” and that “Signs are emerging that Iraq has reached a turning point. Violence is down, armed extremists are in disarray, government confidence is rising and sectarian communities are gearing up for a battle at the polls rather than slaughter in the streets.”

To be sure, there is still much work to be done in Iraq on both the security and political fronts.