I will confess to being somewhat cheered by listening to the news on NPR this morning for the first time in weeks. Whoever the U.S. general was who was giving the briefing to the press on what's going on was vague vague vague, and wouldn't confirm or deny reports that Coalition Forces are within 10 kilometers of Baghdad or that U.S. Special Forces are currently surveying the tarmac of Saddam Hussein International Airport outside of Baghdad. And, he sounded positively bouyant to my ears, in that "I've got a secret surprise that you're gonna love but I'm not gonna tell you what it is" kind of way. And then, there was the rambling and barely coherent statement by an Iraqui Minister of Information that Iraqi forces are on the advance, capturing tanks and men, and causing 'much pain' to the Americans. I had a Python-esque imagining of an aide to said Minister tugging on his sleeve and whispering, "Uh, Sir, those guys out there with the red, white and blue flags? That would be the Americans. We're the other guys."

I know I know I know that any advances made are going to result in casualties, and I know that getting to the gates of Baghdad does not mean it's over, but that it's just beginning in a way. But, I find it encouraging nonetheless.

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