[UPDATE Below]
Usually I post Centcom's daily press releases because it seems that is the only way some people ever see them because the mainstream media sure as hell doesn't ever let you see the good news or the progress in Iraq.
Lately though the mainstream media hasn't had much choice and it thrills me that finally they are forced to show some of the good coming out of Iraq.
In my three pieces "And They Said it Wouldn't Work....Newsflash" and "And They Said it Wouldn't Work....Newsflash #2" and "Baby Steps vs Leaps and Bounds", I showed that the presidents new strategy for Iraq has already shown advance signs of progress..... as members of the senate and congress try their hardest to close their eyes and ignore these successes, hoping to stop any success in its tracks.
Quick rundown from those posts linked above shows that al-Qaeda in Iraq was retreating from Baghdad in advance of the troop surge.
Al Qaeda terrorists are fleeing Baghdad in advance of President Bush’s 21,500-man troop surge, a senior military intelligence officer told Pajamas Media today. Under orders from the al Qaeda commander in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, fighters are streaming toward the Diyala region of Iraq.
This confirms reports posted on Iraq the Model, which cited al-Sabah, an Iraqi government-owned newspaper.
In speaking with Pajamas Media the military intelligence officer supplied several new details of the al Qaeda retreat.
The apparent evacuation of Baghdad by al Qaeda forces comes from direct orders issued by al-Masri, the former soldier who took control of the Iraqi wing of al Qaeda following the June 2006 bombing death of Zarqawi.
Initially, the intelligence officer informed Pajamas, the Baghdad-based AQ fighters did not want to leave. Al-Masri had to send unequivocal orders for their retreat, adding that one of the lessons from the Fallujah campaign was that Americans have learned how to prevail in house-to-house fighting. Masri said that remaining in Baghdad was a ‘no-win situation’ for the terrorists.
“In more than ten years of reading al Qaeda intercepts, I’ve never seen language like this,” the intelligence officer said. Usually, al Qaeda communications are full of bravado and false confidence, he added.
Then we have al-Maliki cracking down on al-Sadr's group, the Mahdi Army:
Facing intense pressure from the Bush administration to show progress in securing Iraq, senior Iraqi officials announced Wednesday that they had moved against the country’s most powerful Shiite militia, arresting several dozen senior members in the past few weeks.
It was the first time the Shiite government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had claimed significant action against the militia, the Mahdi Army, one of the most intractable problems facing his administration. The militia’s leader, the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, helped put Mr. Maliki in power, but pressure to crack down on the group has mounted as its killings in the capital have driven a wedge into efforts to keep the country together.
Although the announcement seemed timed to deflect growing scrutiny by an American administration that has grown increasingly frustrated with Mr. Maliki, American officers here offered some support for the government’s claims, saying that at least half a dozen senior militia leaders had been taken into custody in recent weeks.
In perhaps the most surprising development, the Americans said, none of the members had been prematurely released, a chronic problem as this government has frequently shielded Shiite fighters.
“There was definitely a change in attitudes,” in the past three to four weeks, a senior American military officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Mr. Maliki, in a meeting with foreign journalists on Wednesday, said 400 Mahdi militiamen had been arrested “within the last few days,” according to a tape of the interview made available to The New York Times. A senior government official said later by telephone that the total number arrested was 420 and that they had been detained in 56 operations beginning in October. Several dozen senior leaders have been detained in the past several weeks, the senior official said on condition of anonymity. He said the total number of senior commanders did not exceed 100.
Then US and Iraqi forces arrested one of al-Sadr's top aides:
U.S. and Iraqi forces arrested one of Muqtada al-Sadr's top aides Friday in Baghdad, his office said, as pressure increases on the radical Shiite cleric's militia ahead of a planned security sweep aimed at stemming the sectarian violence ransacking the capital.
Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, al-Sadr's media director in Baghdad, was captured Friday and his personal guard was killed, according to another senior al-Sadr aide.
"We strongly condemn this cowardly act," Sheik Abdul-Zahra al-Suweiadi said.
The U.S. military said special Iraqi army forces operating with coalition advisers captured a high-level, illegal armed group leader in Baladiyat, but it did not identify the detainee. It said two other suspects were detained by Iraqi forces for further questioning.
Now we are all caught up, which brings me to todays good news from Iraq, Death squad chieftains flee to beat Baghdad surge!!!!!!!
DEATH SQUAD leaders have fled Baghdad to evade capture or killing by American and Iraqi forces before the start of the troop “surge” and security crackdown in the capital.
A former senior Iraqi minister said most of the leaders loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical anti-American cleric, had gone into hiding in Iran.
Among those said to have fled is Abu Deraa, the Shi’ite militia leader whose appetite for sectarian savagery has been compared to that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was killed last year.
The former minister, who did not want to be named for security reasons, backed Sunni MPs’ claims that Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, had encouraged their flight. He alleged that weapons belonging to Sadr’s Mahdi Army had been hidden inside the Iraqi interior ministry to prevent confiscation.
Maliki said last week: “I know that senior criminals have left Baghdad, others have left the country. This is good — this shows that our message is being taken seriously.”
Fact is, while senate and congress is pissing and moaning and wasting time and taxpayers money to play their political games, President Bush and al-Maliki along with the US, coalition and Iraqi forces are out there doing their jobs to succeed in their goals for Iraq.
THIS WILL BE REMEMBERED.
Those proposing these ridiculous "non binding resolutions" will be judged accordingly, especially those that are doing it for political aspirations in the 2008 presidential election.
Also, while Hanoi Jane and friends try to recreate conditions for surrender as they did in the vietnam war, OUR President is out for victory.
Once again I encourage the senators and the congress to speak up and let us know now who wishes retreat and defeat so that we may be able to archive it and remind you in your next election exactly how the American people feel about defeatists and those that give comfort and aid and encourage our enemies abroad.
Please make sure you read Blue Star Chronicles post about Hanoi Jane and also Southern Sass.
For those of you that haven't signed The Pledge, now would be a great time, don't you think?
Contact information to make a few calls and send off a few emails can be found here.
As of right now there are 28,000+ people that have signed.... have you?
[UPDATE] Now this is GOOD NEWS, mixed with sad news, also!!!!!!!!!
Coalition Forces Reportedly Kill at Least 250 Militants in Iraq.Please keep the soldiers and their families, who gave their lives for that mission, in your prayers.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. helicopter crashed Sunday while providing air support during a large-scale ground confrontation between Iraqi security forces and gunmen allegedly plotting to kill Shiite pilgrims and clerics during a religious festival.
The military said two crew members were killed in the crash, which occurred about 12 miles northeast of Najaf. Iraqi officials said about 250 militants were killed in the fighting, but the figure could not be independently confirmed. Sources told FOX News that up to 300 insurgents may have been killed.
Last but definitely NOT least, read the TopTen Myths of the Iraq War.
The good news keeps coming and coming...when do you think our political gameplayers will notice? [End Update]
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