Good news in Iraq is bad news for most on the left, especially those politically inclined reporters forced to publicize it, but that in turn is good news for the rest of us. After his double-take, Craig Brett made note of an overwhelmingly positive report from the once gang-ridden slum of Baghdad's Sadr City. To the west, Iraqis will be able to look forward to leading the reconstruction of Fallujah (Hat tip to Chester).

Meanwhile, the country's electrical production has benefited enormously from the West's technological superiority and now produces, according to a senior Army engineer, more than has been possible since "the bulk of the 1990s." (A shortage that was not, as we know, from any lack of funds.) A continuing challenge to Iraq's grid is Iraq's economy, providing citizens with electrical appliances never possible under Saddam Hussein's forced poverty — which has checked each increase in generation with increased demand. But as Ali Fadhil of Iraq the Model has said, most Iraqis recognize this as a manageable problem and the consequence of improvement in their quality of life.