From the WaPo, this morning:
The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.
But rather than explore that situation, including what led to that crippling, what actions took place two so cripple the organization, the Washington post immediately starts spinning the thing:
But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. At the same time, the intelligence community, and some in the military itself, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown great resilience in the past.
There is a lot of good news in the link article, so long as you can make it through the spin. I would urge you to make the attempt. But I take those first two paragraphs as an indication of what I’ve been talking about with the New York Times and the Washington Post… a seemingly inexhaustible effort to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This is no isolated incident. Though most stories aren’t quite as blatant as this, they do it every time.
BBCT: Memeorandum [1]