Let me see if I have all the good news straight. When Sunnis attack Shi’a, we're supposed to consider it encouraging news.

Q: Let me follow on that, because I think some American officials have called [the attack on the Askariya shrine in Samarra] an act of desperation. And I’m wondering how this is seen as an act of desperation. Does that mean that the terrorists are so concerned that they’re sort of being shut down, and that the surge is so effective that they’re now desperate to make a statement? SNOW: …It does fit a pattern that we see throughout the region, which is that when you see things moving towards success, or when you see signs of success, that there are acts of violence.

When we help Sunnis attack other Sunnis, we're also supposed to consider that encouraging news.

American commanders say they have successfully tested the strategy in Anbar Province west of Baghdad and have held talks with Sunni groups in at least four areas of central and north-central Iraq where the insurgency has been strong. In some cases, the American commanders say, the Sunni groups are suspected of involvement in past attacks on American troops or of having links to such groups.

And when Sunni and Shi’a are attacking Americans, that apparently is supposed to be encouraging news, too.

Need proof that the “surge” is working? Gen. David Petraeus has this to offer: The bad guys are starting to kill Americans rather than Iraqis.

If I didn’t know better, I might think that no matter what happens on the ground in Iraq, war supporters in the administration are going to tell us that it’s an encouraging sign.