We're winning in Iraq? Surely you jest!

As before: No, you do not jest.

On page A18 of today's WSJ: another article of hope about the Iraq War. Is the *mainstream* media reporting this stuff?

Robert H. Scales spent a week with General Petraeus in Iraq, and in this article ("Petraeus's Iraq") he shares a very important happening: the "culminating point," which he says and demonstrates is "psychological, not physical, happenings." His definition: "The culminating point marks the shift in advantage from one side to the other, when the outcome becomes irreversible: The potential loser can inflict casualties, but has lost all chance of victory. The only issue is how much longer the war will last, and what the butcher's bill will be." Exactly. Here are some more quotes:

To bolster local security within Baghdad...in May, [Petraeus] began arraying combat units in four successive "belts" around Baghdad. These units painfully ejected al Qaeda influence from the suburbs and satellite cities, effectively choking off reinforcements...

The U.S. operation, called Arrowhead Ripper...was an intelligence-driven battle with precise information, gleaned from overhead surveillance using unmanned aircraft, signals intercepts and willing Iraqis who came forward. The combat was sharp and at times furious. American casualties rose in late June; the enemy fought knowing full well that losing Baquba would force them to retreat...

To be sure, Baghdad and the surrounding belts are not yet safe. But culminating points are psychological events. What I witnessed firsthand in Iraq was a shift in opinions and a transfer of will among Iraqis, not a classic military takedown. This change was palpable and unmistakable...

Gens. Petraeus and Ray Odierno have achieved success on the ground at an unprecedented speed in the history of counterinsurgency warfare. Now it's time to apply the same sense of urgency and commitment to the task of reuniting the tragically fractured nation and bring it back from the brink of annihilation.

And to reach the culminating point with the American public. With the Left's stranglehold on the media (though a staunch Democrat I know insists that the Republicans have a "stranglehold" on it...wonder where he's getting his news!), this may take even longer. No media is better than wrong media.