Ralph Peters in the NY Post covers some of the same ground covered by my conversation with Steve Gilliard. But of course, he does it so much more cleverly:

April 22, 2005 -- SUICIDE bombings, assassinations and roadside blasts continue to plague Iraq. Recently, coordinated assaults threatened American compounds. Yesterday, a contractor's helicopter was downed by a missile. It would be easy to become discouraged — if you were a terrorist.

Terrorist and insurgent activity is down by half, free elections succeeded and a multi-ethnic government has been formed in Baghdad. The enemies of the new Iraq have failed to achieve a single one of their goals. They must be shocked and embittered.

Pursuant to the current anti-Iraqi "Tet Offensive" media campaign, media have been trumpeting the recent high visibility attacks. Peters notes:

The media hailed the recent assaults on the Abu Ghraib compound and a Marine base on the Syrian border as proof of the terrorists' growing sophistication. In fact, the attacks were relatively crude attempts, impressive only in comparison to previous ineptitude. And they failed disastrously, costing our enemies dearly yet again.

Such attacks are a forlorn hope. They grasp at the only strategy left to those who oppose a free Iraq: a renewed effort to kill enough Americans to make Washington throw in the towel. Islamist terrorists, especially, dream of one dramatic, catastrophic strike. They don't know what else to do.

I don't think it is unfair or inaccurate to suggest there a very large number of liberal, anti-war types that have similar dreams. They don't dare say so, but any new "bad news" (for the U.S. that is) seems to cause the DU and their kissin' Kos-sins to perk right up.

Peters has the most optimistic outlook for the future I've heard yet:

Iraq may prove to be the defeat that destroyed the allure of terrorism for hundreds of millions of discontented Muslims. Terrorists won't disappear, but the spotlight of Iraq has revealed them as savage, indiscriminate, blasphemous and, worst of all, incapable.