Restoring peace

For so long, the latest updates from Iraq dominated news reports in the U.S. As efforts continued to restore peaceful civilian law to the country, much of the focus was on casualties -- and there were many.

When the military surge began, many Americans -- and others around the world -- were skeptical. Some of the news reporting switched to efforts on behalf of a speedy withdrawal. Then insurgents in Afghanistan, operating mostly from bases across a mountainous border in Pakistan, renewed their attacks on that beleaguered country.

All of this led daily news reports until the U.S. presidential election and worldwide financial crisis became the top stories of the day.

While politicians and financial experts have struggled with one crisis after another, many of us have concentrated on our 401(k)s and our mortgages and our jobs. At the same time, U.S.-led military forces have continued to enforce order in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now news reports indicate the peacekeeping efforts are working. Only one military death was reported on the Afghan front during November. And in Iraq, thousands more Iraqis have taken on the role of maintaining law and order in their own country as businesses reopen and commerce resumes on a large scale.

The problems in Iraq and Afghanistan are far from over, but the swing of the pendulum is enormous -- and welcome.

If the economy is hogging today's news report, that's OK. This is a case where no news from Iraq and Afghanistan is certainly good news.