Mission (Almost) Accomplished.

Michael Yon emails that, well, we've won. In Iraq, anyway:

We have won the war in Iraq. By "we" I mean the Coalition and the Iraqis. Unless there is some unexpected reversal, what lays ahead is the challenge of building a better Iraq. There is still violence. We have lost four soldiers to combat this month, but there were times when we lost that many on an average day. There still are attacks, though we have finally reached the point where all that's left are truly "dead-enders." Al Qaeda is still a problem, but their numbers are decreasing in Iraq. The Iraqi people are sick of the violence. The Iraqi Army is filled with courageous soldiers who can fight. It is possible that by the end of the year we can really say, "Mission Accomplished," except for the continued support that Iraq will need.

Personally, my optimism has never been higher for Iraq.

And he has more here, including some stats (a PowerPoint download) to prove his claim. If any journalist should know about this, it's Michael.

He is not, however, so optomistic about Afghanistan.