Q--WHAT'S THE BEST INDICATOR WE'VE WON THE WAR?

Iraqi oil exports to north rise: Attacks fall sharply on oil pipeline to Turkey thanks to new security measures. (Leslie Sabbagh and Tom A. Peter, 9/27/07, The Christian Science Monitor)

Iraq's state oil company now has 15 million barrels of crude for sale at the Turkish port of Ceyhan this month, the biggest amount at least since the war began. And foreign oil investors are taking notice.

When measured against Iraq's vast oil reserves (the world's second largest), the precious crude flowing north these days is modest. But the ability to sell – and generate revenues for the nation – is directly connected to the ability to secure the pipelines. In the first three months of this year, the pipeline from the central Iraqi refinery at Bayji (one of three in Iraq) suffered 30 attacks that caused "significant" financial loses, Iraqi officials say. But in the past six months, there have been fewer than 10 attacks.

A--the eagerness of the Left and far Right to surrender.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 26, 2007 6:26 PM