Iraq and Afghanistan

The news from Iraq is not good (via Juan Cole):

50 Killed, 114 Wounded in Coordinated Series of 17 Bombings
3 Americans Killed, 7 wounded

The guerrilla movement pulled off a spectacular set of bombings in Iraq on Friday, as though responding decisively to President Bush's news conference Thursday night in which he said, "I believe we're making really good progress in Iraq." In Azamiyah, a relatively well-off Sunni Arab neighborhood in Baghdad known for its Sunni fundamentalism, guerillas detonated 4 bombs in quick succession, mainly targeting police and military. This set of attacks alone left 20 dead.

Less reported is the bad news from Afghanistan (again via Juan Cole):

US Soldier, 4 Policemen Killed in Afghanistan by Neo-Taliban

Resurgent Taliban forces attacked Afghan police and a US patrol on Wednesday, leaving one American soldier and 4 policemen dead.

CNN says the US has 18,000 troops in harm's way in Afghanistan as well as substantial NATO forces. Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri are at large. Parliamentary elections are due. The US was struck from there. It is a story.