Some More Realities On The Ground- A Contrast (bearing in mind that the crux of the Coalition success -and the crux of the coalition moral self-respect- in Iraq is the underlying will of the Iraqi people. If people like Sadr are opposed by the Iraqis, then the way to a peaceful and prosperous Iraq is well and truly open. News indeed!):

The BBC: Sadr tells Mehdi Army to fight on

A US soldier's email: I wanted to write to the American people about why our fight w/ Sadr is going so well and why they should not be seduced by the media/press image that this is somehow a disaster.

On reading these accounts I understand why the BBC's coverage of Iraq is so sketchy and depleted: they simply will not use the sources most close to hand.

Update: Andrew Sullivan has more observations about Al Sadr and the US success in opposing him (thanks to Kerry at BBBC). I cannot imagine the reporting he cites from the New York Times ever coming out of the BBC- they do not care what the US are doing unless it is bad. The opportunities missed to prove its seriousness about balanced journalism in Iraq just continue to mount- as its relationship to Al Jazeera appears ever closer.