Singing a different tune

Nice post yesterday from Fred Barnes at the Weekly Standard.

He notes that the New York Times, the Washington Post, Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times have changed their tune a bit on Iraq.

He is calling it "herd journalism".

The herd? It consists, so far, of the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Times, and Newsweek - and no doubt others that I have yet to come upon. And the herd is likely to grow larger because the evidence of success in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq is so palpable that reporters, regardless of their view of the war, were bound to acknowledge it at some point. Yes, they've taken a while to do so. For several months, the American press corps in Iraq merely - and sometimes grudgingly - reported the claims of American military officials that the number of American combat deaths, Iraqi deaths, suicide bombings, roadside attacks, and other forms of violence were declining precipitously. Now they're reporting progress that they've seen with their own eyes. This is a big step for a media contingent that appeared to be as locked into the idea that the war is lost as Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is.

Links to the stories:

The Washington Post

New York Times

Newsweek

Los Angeles Times

Let's hope the positive changes in Iraq continue.

Bush and Condi need to engage the national leaders in Iraq in order to keep the positive changes moving forward.