Michael Yon in Iraq

Michael Yon is an author who is embedded with the 1-24 ("Deuce Four") Infantry Battalion which is currently deployed in and around Mosul, Iraq. He has a blog that is very interesting reading. And sobering. And maddening.

An excerpt from his 1 May post:

There are seventeen provinces in Iraq, and more than ten are quiet. They are busy rebuilding the infrastructure; building a new democracy, but mostly just getting on with life.

Unfortunately, the "Sunni triangle" is a region churning with an insurgency that shows no sign of letup. But by focusing on the flames, the media does not give the world a fair or accurate representation of what's happening for most Iraqi people, or for most of the Coalition forces. I, too, have spent most of my time in Iraq in these dangerous provinces, so even these dispatches might indicate that Iraq has more problems than is actually the case.

Yet even here in the warring provinces, progress is clear. I have endured many tedious meetings with agendas focused on roadside trash, local business development, or Iraqi police training. These normalities do not make good news.

His blog includes pictures, and gives you a good insider's view of what is going on.

His 4 May post is one that will break your heart.