Something old, something new

Thursday's Wall Street Journal lead editorial is interesting because of some clear changes in emphasis. First though, what never changes: that man again --

Meanwhile, Ahmed Chalabi, who showed his competence with several portfolios during the transition government, was vetoed for the Interior post by Mr. Jabr's Sciri party. Sciri's Badr militia appears to be a big source of the problem at Interior, and Mr. Chalabi is the kind of non-sectarian leader who could have tame the militias and build a more credible force.

But here's some new stuff:

The White House has been right to point out that the media have missed many good news stories in Iraq, but current coverage probably understates the trauma of daily life in the capital.

Hopefully they won't fall foul of a campaign they've supported in the past, to only report good news from Iraq. And there's more:

Educated Iraqis are fleeing Baghdad in increasing numbers, a terrible sign for the country's democratic future if the exodus is not stopped.

Also a terrible sign for Amir Taheri, whose talking point to the contrary is being dumped, a sign that those who relied on his bogus story that Iran was going to make Jews wear a star are more worried about his credibility than he is. And finally:

All of which points out again the troubles that have arisen from the terribly slow transition to Iraqi sovereignty. The momentum of Saddam Hussein's swift fall from power was squandered as Iraqis were forced to wait more than a year and a half to vote in their first free election.

As close to criticism of the person ultimately in charge of Iraq during that period, George W. Bush, as you'll get from the WSJ pages. [See this post for some idea of what the actual policy priorities were in those 18 months].