Positive? Signs

The right wing complains about the steady flow of articles that describe the Iraq occupation as disastrous while ignoring positive signs.

I decided to do searches using words like "positive signs Iraq", "Iraq improvements", etc etc.

Here are a few examples and the sources:

From Reuters on January 24, 2007: US Iraq envoy sees positive signs on militias

excerpt: "It's too soon to say everything will be positive from here on so one needs to be cautious," (US Ambassador Khalizad said.)

Curious this line comes at the end of the article and it basically refutes the title of the article. The rest of the article is somewhat vague.

From The Hill on April 2, 2007: McCain: Americans are not fully aware of Iraq progress

excerpt: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Monday in Baghdad that Americans “are not getting the full picture of what is happening here.”

“But I am not saying, ‘Mission accomplished,’ ‘last throes,’ ‘dead-enders,’ any of that,” the senator said. “It’s long and it’s hard and it’s very, very difficult — a very, very difficult task ahead of us.”

McCain gives no specific examples of something positive in Iraq in this article, and there is no mention of the flotilla of troops that protected his behind every step of the way in Baghdad. Do we smell a half-truth, or a full out lie?

One more from the Financial Times on March 8, 2007: Iraq surge will ‘continue beyond summer’

excerpt: "General David Petraeus said there were “encouraging signs” that the military escalation in the Iraqi capital following the arrival of two of the five brigades scheduled for deployment to Baghdad was having a positive impact."

Yet to be fair and balanced we find this article from The News and Observer on April 26, 2007: Death toll excludes bombs

excerpt: "Car bombs and other explosive devices have killed thousands of Iraqis in the past three years, but the administration doesn't include them in the casualty counts it has been citing as evidence that the surge of additional U.S. forces is beginning to defuse tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims."

So if you don't count the car bombs and other explosive devices, then the surge is working! This is a classic Bushrovian.

Now this is ridiculous. Why not stop counting American troop deaths as well? Some of us suspect that the count is how shall we say it politely, not quite accurate to begin with considering some of these men and women are dying in the US and in Europe after being lifted out of the battlefield. Also we are not really certain how many mercenaries from outfits like BlackWater have died.

Positive signs appear to be in the dreams of a select few.

Addendum - Oh and this just in: NYT: White House will not assess 'surge' until September

So now there are positive signs but they can't be assessed? What a joke!! Impeach!