More good news from Iraq

Al Sabaah is reporting the arrests of 165 people including 20 of foreign nationalities and the killing of "a number of terrorists from different nationalities" in a raid that began at dawn on Thursday. The site of the fighting was Haifa street.

You may recall that Al Sabaah reported another gun battle on Haifa street on the 10th of July. In that raid, 19 terrorists died and another nine were arrested. If you were worried that the Iraqis couldn't handle their own security, these raids should be encouraging news. While they will require a US presence for a while, the Iraqis appear to be very serious about rooting out the "bad guys" and establishing law and order.

Al Sabaah also reports today that "Sheikh Abdul Kerim Mohammedawi, former Iraqi Governing Council member" was released from jail after a trial failed to establish sufficient evidence that he was guilty of murdering an Iraqi police officer in Maissan Province. Despite the constant drumbeat of negative news from the Western press, the Iraqis appear to be proceeding with normal government business. The court system is working. The police and Iraqi National Guards are doing their jobs. The terrorists are being hunted down and killed, and life is going on. It appears that the elections will be able to proceed on schedule, just as everything else has.

If you wonder why you don't read this stuff in your newspaper or hear it on your evening news programs, maybe you should consider asking them.