Ex-Sunni insurgent becomes U.S. ally

How refreshing to read top-notch reporting about what is actually happening on the ground in Iraq. This straight-forward story by Chicago Tribune foreign correspondent Liz Sly describes in detail how a former Sunni-insurgent leader personally dispatched an Al Qaeda in Iraq leader and turned into a reliable U.S. ally.

"Americans are our protectors and saviors," he said of the alliance after he and the people in his community became fed-up with the violence and murder. His community now is safe to walk.

Such fact-based reporting is an antidote to the mindless rantings of Democratic presidential candidates. It is thanks to increasing reports of such progress in Iraq that the American public will begin--if it hasn't already--to break through the fog of war.