Top 10 of '07

In reviewing the Rocky Mountain News' 48 choices for top 10 stories of the year (It's the readers' turn - 12/22/07), the only one presented with a qualifying "but" was * U.S. troop surge in Iraq takes effect: violence drops but does not halt. Where was the * Nancy Pelosi elected first female speaker of the house, BUT accomplishes almost nothing? How about * President, Democrat-led Congress at odds over health coverage, Iraq, spending, BUT Bush prevails? How come I couldn't find * Alberto Gonzales quits as attorney general after string of controversies, BUT allegations of wrong-doing go unsubstantiated and unproven? Did I miss * Iran spars with international community over its nuclear program, BUT continues to hide its facilities and threaten Israel's existence? What happened to * Political crisis in Pakistan: Musharraf declares state of emergency, BUT cancels it six weeks later and honors pledge to resigns army post? Where did * Afghan war:deadliest year since 2001, BUT NATO/government forces prevail in every battle with Taliban go? Where was * Palestinians feud among themselves heading toward peace talks with Israel, BUT continue to fire rockets at Jewish settlements and hold kidnapped soldiers? What about *Oil prices soar worldwide, BUT average cost/gal. of unleaded gas same as 2004 - 2005 and below 2006? How about *Attempt to forge compromise on illegal immigration collapses in Congress, BUT political consensus to secure borders first strengthens? These are my top 10 the way they should have been presented, BUT without doubt, the defeat of Al-Qaeda in Iraq by American/Iraqi troops was the best story of 2007.

Perlmutter, Please come correct!

A sure sign that the U.S. Military is succeeding in Iraq is when a democrat congressman tells you so (Perlmutter sees some hope in Iraq, RockyMountainNews 12/8/07). After two years of campaigning against success in Iraq, advocating retreat and defeat and voting against military appropriations, there’s a hearty meal of humble pie waiting for Colorado's Ed Perlmutter, after his recent visit to Iraq. While Perlmutter said he saw” absolute optimism, hope, spirit and spunk in the eyes of some Iraqi kids” in Jordanian refugee camps, he failed to mention the 30,000 Iraqi refugees who returned to Baghdad just last month. While he “talked with our men and women up there”, Perlmutter couldn’t bring himself to even utter the words ‘military, soldiers or U.S. troops’ anywhere in his interview and while crediting Gen. Patreaus and the “surge”, he neglected to credit our Commander In Chief who stood strong despite the wave of national pessimism which characterized the election of 2006.In his interview, Perlmutter twice suggested that America should assure Iraqis that “our troops will not be there forever”, rather, we should honor our commitment, and not cut-and-runa (as was the case after the 1rst Gulf War), until they have the security and political situation under control.
Congressman Perlmutter didn’t have to travel 8,000 miles to Ramadi to learn about such progress, but now even he can’t, and doesn’t deny it. Ed Perlmutter now needs to admit he was wrong about Iraq. He needs to apologize for bad-mouthing President Bush and stop trying to hamstring our military, by linking premature withdrawal deadlines to military budgets. Now that's the kind of political reconcilliation/progress I'd like to see.