This CNN report, posted October 7th, indicates the terrorists have surrendered Afghanistan:

Reading from a summary of the letter, Whitman said al-Zawahiri concedes that al Qaeda has lost many key leaders, is resigned to defeat in Afghanistan, and that its lines of communication and funding sources have been seriously disrupted. Al-Zawahiri includes a plea for financial support, indicating he is strapped for money, Whitman said.

Man, that's good news! Here's the New York Times report on the same story:

*cue crickets chirping*

Okay, so it has been apparent the terrorists haven't been gaining ground in Afghanistan for some time now. But the letter, written by bin Laden's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq, also discusses operations in that country. And those don't meet al-Zawahiri's approval, either:

In the letter, al-Zawahiri warns that some of the tactics currently employed by the insurgency, including the slaughtering of hostages and the suicide bombings of Muslim civilians, may risk alienating the "Muslim masses," Whitman said Thursday.

That's right, al-Qaeda thinks the Iraq insurgency is alienating other Muslims! That's good news, too. Right? Of course it is! Because without support from the rest of Muslimia, the insurgency will eventually collapse. So what does the Times have to say about our greatly improved odds of victory in creating a stable and peaceful Iraq?

Six marines were killed in two roadside bomb attacks in western Iraq on Thursday as the United States command pressed a two-pronged offensive against insurgent strongholds along the Euphrates River, American officials announced today.

Yeah, why muddy things up with some good news? Run with more death and destruction. The report makes no mention of the results of the "two-pronged offensive," so they must have been good news for our side. Does anyone have any doubt that if the insurgents had beaten back the U.S. offensive, that story would have been above the fold on page one?