I truly enjoy reading of success in Iraq in the ‘pages’ of the NY Times. The NY Times is the epicenter of BDS and the SurrenderMedia’s defeatism on Iraq. So I savour the moments when they must actual perform real journalism and report how the Bin Laden’s butchers are being destroyed by the forces of democracy of freedom (which are made up of Americans, allies and increasingly more Iraqis). So let’s enjoy a moment together as we have one of those rare times where the NY Times actually conveys what is at stake in Iraq, and how things are actually going. The story is about the changes in Diyala Province, one of al-Qaeda’s one time centers of Jihad and the second site of the capitol for their modern caliphate (the first was Ramadi in Anbar, where they were rejected by the Iraqis before setting up their new capitol in Baquba in Diyala).

SInce the SurrenderMedia likes to bury and minimize the truth of Iraq, we have to start in the middle of the story where all the gems are scattered around so as to not draw too much attention to them:

Only seven months earlier, Americans had stormed into Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province. They secured and held the city, but allowed some insurgents to escape into the surrounding countryside, where they continued to torture, kidnap and murder.

Emphasis mine. The SurrenderMedia now admits, albeit too briefly and casually, that it is al-Qaeda that is torturing, kidnapping and murdering Iraqis. Also implicit in this sentence is the role America plays – as liberator and protector – in this historic battle of civilizations. The phrasing ‘allowed some to escape’ is inaccurate and extremely biased because it implies the US had a choice that some would escape and deliberately let them. This is of course an out and out lie – but bias and prejudice is simply rationale wrapped around lies to make them palatable to some. No surprise there.

The SurrenderMedia lie in using that phrase pales in comparison to the larger truth being forced from them, that evil is al-Qaeda and hope is America. So we can savour the moment even more as the NY Times chokes out the larger truth – America is wearing the white hats and is the cavalry coming to the rescue.

The Americans had arrived in the northern Diyala River Valley in force in mid-January, during the opening phase of an operation to clear Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia from one of its local strongholds in Diyala Province.

Iraqi villagers had seen government forces arrive before, only to have their areas slide back under insurgent control when they left.

This time is different, the Americans are insisting.

“Our biggest message is that we are coming in with the Iraqi Army, with the Iraqi Police, and we are staying and providing security, and that’s something they haven’t seen before. But until they see it they are not going to believe it,” said Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the American commander in northern Iraq, as he toured villages early in the deployment.

What is the biggest hope for these people? It is for Americans and Iraqi security forces stay. It is not even in doubt anymore! Where would Arab Muslim prefer to live – under al-Qaeda’s jackboot or with American assistance? No argument, no doubt, no question – with American assistance. Does the NY Times, or anyone in the SurrenderNow movement, appreciate how far the debate has shifted in the last year? The Dems do not dare call for an end of the war without finishing the job. They dare not try to cut off funds.

But more importantly, look at this from the view of the Muslims communities in the Middle East. Who is evil? al-Qaeda. Who kidnaps, tortures and murders? al-Qaeda. Who is venerated for giving their lives to fight evil? Those Iraqis who have joined forces with the Americans. Who will get the burial and accolades of a hero? The Iraqis aligned against al-Qaeda. Who is most likely to get ripped apart by a mob if found out? al-Qaeda.

The sea-change view on al-Qaeda in the Middle East is stunning. It is only severe BDS that blinds the SurrenderMedia to what has transpired. They can report statistics all day long:

But American officers argue that their presence, reinforced by Iraqi Army units, will now deprive the extremists of a crucial base. Pointing to a 75 percent fall in attacks from June 2007 to January 2008 across Diyala as a whole, and 85 percent within Baquba over the same period, they say the insurgents will now be further crippled by the loss of a safe haven to manufacture car bombs to send into nearby Baghdad.

“The real victory here is not killing 10, 20 or 30 insurgents; it is that this population here is separated from them,” said Colonel Coffey, commander of the Third Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment, part of the Fourth Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

This kind of rapid and irreversible change is only possible when the local people decide en masse they will strive for a change – even in the face of mortal peril. And successes earned in the face of mortal peril have a way of emboldening the victors, and creating a wave of momentum towards full victory. This too is happening, which is why the results Surge and Awakening keep building more and more.

The dynamics of such movements, once they get going and build up some speed, can be quite breathtaking. And as hard as the SurrenderMedia tries to pretend it is not happening or minimize this kind of building force, it means nothing. Denial by a few outliers that a force is building inside a much larger group has no impact on the larger group. It is like burp in the face of a hurricane – irrelevant. [BTW, I did toy with idea of using the other form of out-gassing common to humans).