Al Jazeera's Tour of Iraq

The number one U.S. news network - FOX News - enjoys about 1.5 million viewers per day.

By contrast, Al Jazeera, which is broadcast worldwide and almost universally watched throughout the Middle East, has somewhere between 40 and 50 Million viewers daily. Yikes.

Al Jazeera is viewed by many Americans with a suspicious eye - they're famous in the U.S. for being the network that broadcast Osama Bin Laden's missives after 9/11, not to mention the images of charred American bodies being desecrated on a bridge in Fallujah in 2004.

Maybe it's a case of shooting the messenger because of the message, or maybe we're justified in despising a network that often seems to allow itself to become the mouthpiece of our enemy.

Either way, it's encouraging to hear that recently a group of journalists from around the Arab world were given a tour of Diyala province, Iraq. And their reactions to the progress they were shown is worth noting: This from Huda Had al-Hamed, a reporter with al-Jazeera International.

". you got a real sense that there is much improvement. The Iraqi Army was very proud to be here and to be able to do this. They were extremely professional. There is a way out of the madness and violence in Iraq. I think the way is long and complicated, but when you see days like this, you realize that there is a way out. " emphasis added

Now let's hope that same journalist sees fit to report on this progress to his worldwide audience. Wouldn't that be nice?

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