Progress, perspective, not from a politician

Left-liberal politicians, media and chattering classes not only claim there is no progress in Afghanistan and Iraq, but need this politically. This traps them in the perverse moral bind that good news for America, Afghanistan and Iraq is bad news to them. It reduces their chances of defeating the hated George W. Bush. (Shh, don’t let on that he won’t be running in 2008.)

Here’s another brief overview report, from writer Ann Marlowe. Is Afghanistan threatening to challenge for first-world status? No. Did it ever? No. Will it soon? Not likely. But are things getting worse, as Democratic politicians claim? Writes Marlowe:

Sen. Hillary Clinton has cynically charged that we are “losing the fight to al Qaeda and bin Laden” in Afghanistan. But on my eighth trip to Afghanistan (last month) I saw that the trend lines are up, not down.

Read it and judge for yourself.