Newsweek on Iraq: Hell Freezes Over

Better late than never I suppose:

Mission Accomplished! [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Newsweek's cover this week is a double-taker.

So is the accompanying story, which includes:

Bush's rhetoric about democracy came to sound as bitterly ironic as his pumped-up appearance on an aircraft carrier a few months earlier, in front of an enormous banner that declared MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. And yet it has to be said and it should be understood — now, almost seven hellish years later — that something that looks mighty like democracy is emerging in Iraq. And while it may not be a beacon of inspiration to the region, it most certainly is a watershed event that could come to represent a whole new era in the history of the massively undemocratic Middle East.

Independent journalist Michael Yon remembers writing something along these lines in the summer of 2008. He e-mails from Afghanistan: "As per normal, MSM is lagging behind the obvious . . . . You might recall that in 2008 I said the war is over, and we won. (I remember because like with all such statements, people throw stones and only later does it bear out.)"Yon's not looking for credit there. He explains: "This isn't rocket science, Kathryn. It's just a matter of paying attention and disregarding what others think about your report, and waiting patiently for history to vindicate."

He adds: "Newsweek might consider renaming itself to Historyweek."