Even the AP's bias can't spoil this victory

The lead paragraph of this story demonstrates the AP's institutional bias toward painting Iraq as a disaster, while the remainder of the story belies the negativity of the lead.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Tens of thousands of Iraqis from the Shiite south to the Kurdish-dominated north poured into the usually treacherous streets Sunday to celebrate a rare moment of joy and unity when the national team won Asia's most prestigious soccer tournament.

The revelers spanning the country's sectarian and ethnic divisions danced, sang and waved flags and posters of the team after Iraq beat three-time champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 to take the Asian Cup.

Chants of "Long live Iraq" and "Baghdad is victorious" rang out across the country as Iraqis basked in national pride. Some of the revelers - mostly men - took their shirts off to display the red, white and black colors of the Iraqi flag painted on their chests.

Reporters of the state Iraqiya television wrapped themselves with the national flag as they interviewed people celebrating in the streets. Some joined in the chanting.

Within seconds of the final whistle, celebratory gunfire echoed across Baghdad and elsewhere despite a government ban and the threat of arrest by authorities.

At least four people were killed and scores wounded by the gunfire. But as night fell on the country, there were no reports of bombings such as those that killed at least 50 and wounded dozens in Baghdad during celebrations of Iraq's semifinal win over South Korea on Wednesday.

Authorities said they foiled a potential car bomber in southwestern Baghdad after he refused to stop at a checkpoint and appeared headed toward a crowd of revelers. Iraqi authorities had banned vehicles in and around the capital from shortly before the game began until early Monday to prevent a repeat of last week's violence.

"The victory of our Iraqi soccer team is a wonderful gift to Iraqis who have been suffering from the killing, car bombs, abductions and other violent acts," said Falah Ibrahim, a 44-year-old resident of Baghdad's predominantly Shiite Sadr City district.

If the sectarian and tribal divisions were as deep as the writer says, there would have been no celebrations for a team composed of individuals drawn from all areas and sects of Iraq. But there were celebrations, big celebrations everywhere.

And they celebrated in the streets. And no one was able to repeat the horrors of the suicide bombings that followed the Iraqi team's semi-finals victory. And that means that the streets of Iraq, as dangerous as they may be, are not "no man's land" in which death is the most likely outcome of a walk or an errand.

The goal of al-Qaida, of the Sadrist militia, of Iran, of the dead-enders loyal to Saddam's memory, is the same: to tear Iraq apart so that its pieces can be used as weapons. The Iraqi national soccer team has struck a mighty blow for Iraq's freedom.

National pride trumps terror

Iraq has shown that free citizens with national pride on their side will always outperform people enslaved by fear. Their national soccer side has reached the finals of the Asian Cup.

Tournament surprises Iraq will play either defending champions Japan or Saudi Arabia in Sunday's decider in Jakarta.

The epic match went to a shootout after both sides failed to score in over two hours' of sustained committed football.

It is Iraq's first-ever Asian Cup final after getting as far as the 1976 semi-final against Kuwait, which went to extra time, while South Korea were chasing their third title since 1960.

In emotional scenes at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Iraqi players rushed to their supporters to grab national flags as other players wept with joy when realisation hit that they had won.

This is fantastically good news for Iraq. Iraqis know that under Saddam, members of their soccer team were the playthings of Uday Hussein, subject to beatings and summary execution for poor play. To see their countrymen playing for their country (and not for a demented dictator claiming to be their country) and winning gives them a tremendous surge of pride and joy.

Which is something the enemies of a free Iraq cannot stand.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Two suicide car bombings struck soccer fans in Baghdad as they were celebrating Iraq's victory in the Asian Cup semifinal on Wednesday, killing at least 27 people [Note: Reuters says the death toll from these attacks exceeds 50 - ed.] and wounding more than 100, officials said.

The victims were among the thousands of revelers who took to the streets of the capital after the country's national soccer team beat South Korea to reach the tournament's final against Saudi Arabia on Sunday in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The first attack took place about 6:30 p.m. when a bomber exploded in a crowd of people cheering near a well-known ice cream parlor in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Mansour, according to police and hospital officials. At least 11 people were killed and more than 60 wounded, the officials said.

Another suicide car bomber detonated his payload about 45 minutes later in the midst of dozens of vehicles filled with revelers near an Iraqi army checkpoint in the eastern district of Ghadeer, killing at least 16 people, including two soldiers, and wounding nearly 60, area officials said.

However, the national pride from the Iraqi team's Asian Cup performance is a far stronger weapon than the suicide bombs set against it. Suicide bombs are, sadly, not unprecedented events in Iraq -- but the Iraqi soccer team's performance is, and it pervades all of Iraq, not just one province or one ethnic group.

That's just bloody ungrateful

After all the steadfastness Australia has shown in the war to liberate the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi national soccer team goes and does this.

THE Socceroos' Asian Cup campaign lies in tatters after Iraq stunned the pre-tournament favourites 3-1 in their second Group A match at Rajamangala Stadium tonight.

After falling behind to a first-half goal, then equalising through skipper Mark Viduka just following halftime, Australia were picked apart defensively by the Iraqis on the hour for Hawar Mulla Mohammed to score a second.

Karrar Jassim Mohammed then finished the Socceroos off with a third with five minutes remaining to leave their tournament hanging by a thread.

Who'd have thought they could take time out from killing each other and being blown up by suicide bombers to field a national soccer side, much less a winning one? Or is the situation in Iraq less bleak than the mainstream media would have us believe?