The reporting confirms other reports from people who have actually gone inside Iraq and talked to the Iraqi people and de facto leaders, including Nir Rosen. It fairly fully disputes the Bush/McCain propaganda echoed by the right wing corporate media that things are recovering wonderfully in Iraq.

It's true that the MSM leads us to believe that Iraq is getting better, but Cockburn very effectively points out that just like in Afghanistan when we suported the "muj" in the fight against the Soviets, we have deceived ourselves into thinking that there won't be any blowback. The Sunni "Awakening" group may be with us now, but that probably won't last. And it is only deepening the rift with the Shia. Which means we've created a divided society that we are only artificially keeping in balance. At some point, it will blow up.

This is much more in-depth than most of the superficial stuff I read in the papers. It does not, however, particularly address the headline. While the author provides a lot of on-the-ground detail I don't see in many US outlets, I only saw one sentence that addresses how the future of the war will affect John McCain's presidential hopes. And, while Cockburn paints a believable picture of a volatile situation, he does not get nearly as specific about how and why this could blow up. The stresses are obvious. The trigger points clear. But I'd be interested to know what he feels might light the fuse.

This opinion piece puts the Iraq war back where it belongs–on the front page along with election coverage. Bushies and “Flip-Flop Express” McCain would like this issue to fade into the background until after the election when, hopefully, we’ll be fooled into voting for the second Hundred Years War in history. The success of the “surge” has little to do with the minuscule increase in troops and everything to do with the predictable pap from the ultra conservative propaganda machine. If such a minor increase in troop numbers was all that was needed, then why did Bush ignore then fire the general who said more troops would be needed way back before we got into this debacle?

This opinion piece has little journalistic merit. The author has not done any research on what is happening outside Baghdad and has not consulted informed on the scene reporters such as Michael Totten or Michael Yon, who have been reporting from the provinces of Iraq. The piece offers the author's personal opinions without reporting any news.