Wow -- the New York Times has put an optimistic story about Iraq on its front page! What greater signal can there be that something big really is happening in the Middle East? The estimable John Burns reports that violence in Iraq actually seems to be subsiding:

'In the first 18 months of the fighting, the insurgents mostly outmaneuvered the Americans along Haifa Street, showing they could carry the war to the capital's core with something approaching impunity. But American officers say there have been signs that the tide may be shifting. On Haifa Street, at least, insurgents are attacking in smaller numbers, and with less intensity; mortar attacks into the Green Zone have diminished sharply; major raids have uncovered large weapons caches; and some rebel leaders have been arrested or killed...Last month, an Iraqi brigade with two battalions garrisoned along Haifa Street became the first homegrown unit to take operational responsibility for any combat zone in Iraq. The two battalions can muster more than 2,000 soldiers, twice the size of the American cavalry battalion that has led most fighting along the street. So far, American officers say, the Iraqis have done well, withstanding insurgent attacks and conducting aggressive patrols and raids, without deserting in large numbers or hunkering down in their garrisons. If Haifa Street is brought under control, it will be a major step toward restoring order in this city of five million, and will send a wider message: that the insurgents can be matched, and beaten back.'

Of course, as ever, we must brace ourselves for more violence in Iraq. But the trend is in the right direction, so much so that even the craven NYT, which has done so much to demoralise the coalition, is now being forced to acknowledge this fact.

In the New York Sun, meanwhile, Hedieh Mirahmadi endorses the view that the uprising for freedom in Lebanon, which has brought together Sunnis, Shiites, Christians and others, suggests that the whole of the Arab world is now at a historic turning point:

'Rather than revolution by bloody coup or an external plot for regime change, there is a peaceful, grassroots coalition for independence clamoring for change. And their lineage, their boldness, can be clearly drawn from the democratic transformation of Iraq. The outcome of the recent Iraqi elections proved the integrity of American intentions in the region; this has been evidenced throughout the region by a decline of vocal anti-Americanism. For the first time in many years, policy discussions do not focus around "horrible U.S. foreign policy against Muslims," but have turned instead to hope for the future, and American support for those dreams. Who would imagine one could find posters, in downtown Beirut, with the picture of President Bush in between the American and Lebanese flags?'

Who indeed. Certainly not the New York Times, nor the legions of treacherous western Bush-haters who are now sulking into their cappucinos and praying for bloody catastrophe to rescue their reputations by snuffing out this growing hope of a better world. But as Ms Mirahmadi emphasises, America must not now sit back passively with all its digits crossed. It must actively help support, promote and protect these brave Arabs and Muslims who are beginning to express the unquenchable idealism of the human spirit. Their struggle is ours, too. They must not be abandoned.

Posted by melanie at March 21, 2005