Very Good News From Iraq

Some news to be truly thankful for today:

Violence in Iraq has fallen at a rate that has surprised military commanders and even one of the architects of the “surge” that boosted US troop numbers in the country this year, according to figures gathered by the US.

The figures show the numbers of suicide attacks, roadside bombings, mortar and other attacks on US forces and on the Iraqi population have more than halved since 30,000 extra troops in June. [...]

The US military says the number of civilian deaths has also fallen 60 per cent since the surge took effect, with a drop of 75 per cent in Baghdad. According to icasualties.org, the average monthly US death toll dropped from 96 for the first half of 2007 to 66 in the past four months. The average monthly death toll for Iraqi civilians and security forces has dropped from 2,157 to 1,223 in the same period.

Are all things going splendily? No; there is still a fair amount of Shiite-on-Shiite and Sunni-on-Sunni violence, and there are delicate cease-fires in place that must be carefully handled. So, should our optimism be cautious? Yes; but the surge is working and violence is retreating faster than expected. Let's pray it stays that way. Iraqis are realizing that their future is in their own hands and they must wrest control from the fanatics and Islamofascists who have been using them for their own evil purpose.

While I applaud George W. Bush's firm stance on not giving up in Iraq, if only our stubborn President had listened to the people telling him to take action like this years ago we might be celebrating today as a homecoming for more of our troops.