It’s time to break out the skates because hell must’ve frozen over. Either that or they’ve hired a conservative as the NY Times editor. That’s the only conclusion you can draw from this article. Who would’ve thunk it that the NY Times would write such an article? I didn’t.

The security improvements in most neighborhoods are real. Days now pass without a car bomb, after a high of 44 in the city in February. The number of bodies appearing on Baghdad’s streets has plummeted to about 5 a day, from as many as 35 eight months ago, and suicide bombings across Iraq fell to 16 in October, half the number of last summer and down sharply from a recent peak of 59 in March, the American military says.

As a result, for the first time in nearly two years, people are moving with freedom around much of this city. In more than 50 interviews across Baghdad, it became clear that while there were still no-go zones, more Iraqis now drive between Sunni and Shiite areas for work, shopping or school, a few even after dark. In the most stable neighborhoods of Baghdad, some secular women are also dressing as they wish. Wedding bands are playing in public again, and at a handful of once shuttered liquor stores customers now line up outside in a collective rebuke to religious vigilantes from the Shiite Mahdi Army.

This is undeniably good news on the Iraqi security front. I’ve given the NY Times alot of grief over the years, most of it richly deserved. It’s only fair that I compliment them when they publish a story that is well-researched and accurate.

As each upbeat article is published, whether it’s published in the NY Times or Newsweek or the Chicago Tribune, Democrats like Harry Reid and John Murtha and their CodePink friends have to fight a steeper uphill fight. the longer they have to fight that fight, the less their odds of winning that fight.

Iraqis sound uncertain about the future, but defiantly optimistic. Many Baghdad residents seem to be willing themselves to normalcy, ignoring risks and suppressing fears to reclaim their lives. Pushing past boundaries of sect and neighborhood, they said they were often pleasantly surprised and kept going; in other instances, traumatic memories or a dark look from a stranger were enough to tug them back behind closed doors.

I think that sounds like the most realistic perspective on Iraq in general and Baghdad in specifically. Situational awareness is obviously required. It isn’t wrong to prepare for the worst, expect the best and smile when you spot proof that your fears aren’t reality.

It’s important to remember that Saddam took 35 years to pit one group against another. This won’t be solved overnight. I suspect that it’ll get solved bit by bit at first, though I suspect that things will come together in a hurry once more impediments to free society are eliminated.

Whenever that day comes, one thing is important in the present. It’s important to discredit Harry Reid and John Murtha when they talk about our troops being caught in the middle of a civil war. These Baghdadi residents signal with their actions that they don’t think they’re living in the middle of a civil war.

It’s great to read all the improving statistics because they paint an improving picture. It’s better to read stories featuring real Iraqis who are living proof that conditions are improving.

Technorati Tags: NY Times, Civil War, Sectarian Violence, Iraq, Baghdad, Harry Reid, John Murtha, Credibility, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog