BBC NEWS | Middle East | Al-Qaeda in Iraq 'reduced by 75%'

While the road ahead in Iraq is long and arduous, the BBC reports that the 'surge' with General Petraeus' leadership has apparently reduced the level of violence and severely limited Al Qaeda's influence. Why isn't the American media reporting the same good news. Is it because they see this positive result as bad for the Democrats?

I expect little credit will be given to Bush for this turn of events, but the improvement, thanks to our military, cannot be denied. Now, the harder task is for the politicians and the State Department to move the Iraqis toward resolution of as many of their differences as possible.

"The BBC's Jo Floto in Baghdad says there are a number of other factors behind the security gains, such as a six-month ceasefire announced in August by the Mehdi Army militia of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

But perhaps most crucial, says our correspondent, has been the emergence of Sunni militias who once fought the Americans and the Iraqi government but are now fighting al-Qaeda.

In his year-end review for media, Gen Petraeus said US figures
showed the number of overall attacks had fallen by 60% since June."