WELL, GOOD: “Iraq is poised to receive a flood of foreign investment, thanks to improved security. More than $74 billion in projects have been submitted for government approval in just the past five months, according to Iraq’s state investment regulator. The investors include companies from the U.S., Europe, and Gulf Arab states. Their proposals all involve sectors other than oil, including a $13 billion new port for the southern city of Basra, several hotels and thousands of housing units nationwide, says Ahmed Ridha, the chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission.”

But there’s also this: Pentagon chief cites caution on U.S. troop pullout. “Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Congress Wednesday that the United States has entered the ‘end game’ in Iraq, but cautioned that the next president should expect to be in Iraq ‘for years to come.'” This is more troubling, though: “Mullen told the panel that while he is not convinced the coalition is winning in Afghanistan, ‘I am convinced we can.'”

The upside, I guess, is that he’s sounding like Michael Yon, meaning that the message has been received. The downside is that . . . the message is, we’re not winning now.