The surge of American and Iraqi forces in Baghdad has thus far produced a significant decrease in the level of violence there. The number of Iraqis killed due to violence in Baghdad in the 30 days since "Operation Enforce the Law" commenced reportedly is less than one-fifth of what it was during the previous 30 days. AP reports that deaths due to car bombs are down 30 percent and execution style deaths are down 50 percent. Moreover, "the once frequent sound of weapons has been reduced to episodic, and downtown shoppers have returned to outdoor markets - favored targets of car bombers." Finally, though I'm unable to link to the report, I've read that the number of U.S. troops killed between February 14 and March 13 also declined significantly from the corresponding previous period.

Even the Washington Post has noticed in a story titled "Violence Down in Baghdad." Unfortunately, the print edition tries to bury the story on page 15, and I had to perform a search to find it online. That's a bit odd. The Post routinely blares bad news about Iraq on its front page. Regular readers of the Post are likely to believe that Baghdad is in the midst of a civil war. But that is clearly not the case at this time. As the Post acknowledges in its back-pages report, the Shia militias have essentially left the field for now and their main leader, Moqtada al Sadr, apparently has left the country. Baghdad today is not experiencing a civil war; it's experiencing reduced levels of sporadic terrorist incidents.

The Post may well believe it's too early for serious optimism. I share that view. Nonetheless, given the potential importance of the surge, it's not too early to report the facts on the ground in a spot where the Post's readers are likely to find them.