Fred Barnes's post "Herd Journalism, Iraq Edition" has sparked a lot of great letters to the editor. One letter writer, a State Department type in Baghdad, tells this story:
A high civil servant I know, a very, cultured and well respected man, who is also a lecturing professor at Baghdad University, is neither a fan of the invasion nor of the continued presence of Coalition Forces in Iraq. Once, like the character, Tim O'Leary in the movie Ryan's Daughter, he answered my question whether there was anything I could do, he replied, 'Just get out of my country.' Two months ago, he said that people had resumed traveling about the city, shops and restaurants in his neighborhood had re-opened and people in the Ministry generally feel safer. He said he believed that Iraqis had just reached a point where they have had enough and were willing to cooperate with the Coalition and stand up to the thugs. One month ago he traveled by car from Syria to Baghdad without stopping to spend the night. According to him, six months ago a car would have to be off the western route by 3 p.m.
It's a safe bet that we will hear more stories like this in the coming weeks.