How's the war going?

Everyone in Washington seems to have an opinion of how the Iraq War is proceeding. For the most part the views seem predictable. Conservatives and senior military officials profess that things are on the mend. Liberals point to rising casualties and insist that the enterprise has become a quagmire with no end in sight.
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But how does either side really know what is going on? How many commentators and columnists have actually spent time in Iraq? Among those who have, how many have done anything more substantial than take a helicopter ride and chat with a few troops?
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In my opinion, those best positioned to comment on what is taking place in the country are those who are actually leading the fight. Why don't we ask the senior NCOs and junior officers how the effort is going? While some may claim that such a micro-level perspective isn't useful, I know that my father says that even as a junior enlisted serviceman in Vietnam that it was apparent the war was being lost -- and he served pre-Tet offensive. I think such troops can yield valuable insights.

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To the extent I have been able to gauge sentiment among this group it seems to be overwhelmingly positive. First you have to listen to what is being said. If you do, it seems you'll hear a lot of this:

[The Marines] are extremely frustrated with the media and make no bones about their distaste for those who are undermining the war effort by calling for withdrawal.

And this:

Like many soldiers and marines returning from Iraq, Mayer looks at the bleak portrayal of the war at home with perplexity - if not annoyance. It is a perception gap that has put the military and media at odds, as troops complain that the media care only about death tolls, while the media counter that their job is to look at the broader picture, not through the soda straw of troops' individual experiences.

Yet as perceptions about Iraq have neared a tipping point in Congress, some soldiers and marines worry that their own stories are being lost in the cacophony of terror and fear. They acknowledge that their experience is just that - one person's experience in one corner of a war-torn country. Yet amid the terrible scenes of reckless hate and lives lost, many members of one of the hardest-hit units insist that they saw at least the spark of progress.

Perhaps more interesting, however, are the dogs that aren't barking. You don't read op-eds in the New York Times or Washington Post from frustrated junior officers saying "The war is a disaster and I can not in good conscience remain silent any longer." And don't kid yourself that there isn't a ready audience for that type of sentiment. Sure, any such officer would most likely effectively deep-six their career, but think of the potential rewards. Book deals. Television appearances. Speaking engagements.

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Think I'm wrong? Just ask Jimmy Massey, an Iraq War veteran who became a media darling after making claims of U.S. atrocities -- claims later exposed to be complete lies. Or what about Cindy Sheehan? She didn't even serve, but the fact that her son did was enough to gain her national prominence.

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I guess good news just doesn't sell.

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Update: Sent a copy of the CSM article to instapundit -- less than 10 minutes later he linked to it.