Ground Truth

Real Clear Politics posted this brillant column by Ralph Peters a couple of days ago. I had planned to link to it, but got distracted. A hat tip to Powerline for the reminder.

In the past, I've linked to a number of Peters's op-ed columns in the New York Post. Ralph is one of the most brillant officers produced by the U.S. Army over the last 20 years, but his insightful critiques and recommendations for radical change in Army tactics and strategy didn't always sit well with the brass--that's probably why he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, and not as a full Colonel or flag officer.

Ralph is just back from Iraq, and he paints a far different picture than the MSM. During one day in Baghdad, he criss-crossed repeatedly through the city and found that while the security situation is often dangerous, but not hopeless. He found other, unmistakable signs of progress as well.

I'm hoping that Ralph will write a companion piece on his encounters with the MSM during his trip to Iraq. Just a hunch, but I'm betting that most of the MSM types never saw the events that Ralph Peters reported, or if they did, they certainly didn't report them (doesn't fit too well with the quagmire theme). I've also heard that more than a few reporters spend much of their time in their hotels, venturing out only to record the latest IED or car bomb attack.

If you haven't already, read Peters' column, then compare it to what you see on tonight's network newscast.