End of the Year Round Up

From the AP:

The second half of 2007 saw violence drop dramatically in Iraq, but the progress came at a high price: The year was the deadliest for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion, with 899 troops killed

If I admit the first part that "2007 saw violence drop dramatically", how long will I be waiting to hear the cheerleaders of dubya's bloody war to admit the second, that 2007 "was the deadliest [year] for the U.S. military since the 2003 invasion"?

Any takers?

But it's not only the surge at play here:

Two critical shifts that boosted U.S.-led forces in 2007 _ a self-imposed cease-fire by a main Shiite militia and a grassroots Sunni revolt against extremists _ could still unravel unless serious unity efforts are made by the Iraqi government.

That's what General Petraeus was talking about when he said things were "reversible" in Iraq.

Meanwhile Privacy International, a human rights group based in London and formed as a watchdog on privacy invasions by governments and corporations released a report calling the US an "endemic survillance society."

Happy New Year!