So it’s been 5 years and 4,000 US soldiers are now KIA. There was a time not long ago when the world’s media would have had a field day with this, using the number to rail once more against American imperialism and the evils of this world in general. But these days, it seems opposition and indeed general coverage of the war is fast becoming a resigned whimper, rather than a defiant shout, from all corners of the media world.

A recent BBC article highlighted this and, most importantly, how the successes US commanders have enjoyed in Iraq have a direct relationship with the attention the war receives:

The Pew Research Centre, earlier this month, reported that public awareness of the number of US military fatalities in Iraq had declined sharply since last August, with only about a quarter of Americans knowing roughly how many of their own soldiers had died.

Nothing sells quite so well as failure. So when there is none to be had, it seems the vultures find other topics to grind their axe upon. The Surge’s success had the additional benefit of staving attention from the war away. It’s quite hard to protest the war with the same tired lines about corrupt politicians and blood on their hands when the strategic climate on the ground is now vastly and irrefutably different to what it was a year ago.

For others, it’s more a case of simple blogger’s fatigue. I find this a bit of a cop-out though, as simply adopting a depressive indifference to the war when it starts turning around hardly holds water, in my opinion. It is precisely now that the war in Iraq should be observed with keen interest. When the global media shuts up about it, this often means something significant is happening for the better, particularly in the War on Terrorism. Afghanistan, for example, only comes up in the news with Prince Harry’s name attached, and Iraq likewise comes clipped next to casualty reports, suicide bombings or somesuch other tragedy.

But there are still some who won’t stop printing the good things. The way Iraqis are slowly changing their lot in life, how the terrorists bent on destroying what good the Surge achieved are rapidly being forced into retreat. Michael Yon, for example, is still there, in Iraq, doing his thing and surviving simply on the goodwill of his readers.

Times have changed for al Qaeda here. Too many Iraqis have decided they are not going to take it anymore. Al Qaeda in Iraq is still fighting, and they are tough and wily, but al Qaeda Central seems to realize there are easier targets elsewhere, perhaps in Europe, where many people demonstrate weakness in the face of terror.

And that, ultimately, is what it’s about. The people on the ground, fighting tooth and nail for their own survival. I realise the many faults made by the US administration in going to war in the first place, but in my eyes the mistakes were made and now they’re dealing with them. Nobody in their right mind now argues FOR President Bush and his management of Iraq, but there’s nothing one can do about it, and simply bleating against an unassailable target such as the US government is pointless, so why not look at the reality on the ground?

And now it’s even more important, because 4,000 brave American soldiers have died trying to secure this future, and their deaths cannot simply be a grim reminder to strategic and political ineptitude. For the honoured dead, their sacrifices must mean more than just a bullet point against the war.