The British Leave Basra

...as planned for months.

But to read the "progressive" blogosphere accounts of the pull out, you would think they were beating a hasty retreat: Basra Withdrawal: Read It There, Read It Here, and Basra Pullout Story Breaks Into The US Press.

But Gateway Pundit outlines the misreporting by the media:

"British troops quitting Iraqi city of Basra"

"Iraqi joy at British 'defeat' as Bush makes surprise visit to Baghdad"

Iraqi joy at British 'defeat' in Basra

These are British media outlets. Have they discovered a sacred duty to misreport the British withdrawal with shouts of ecstasy?

The withdrawal was planned for years, writes Gateway Pundit:

The Brits were planning on reducing troop levels all along based on progress of the Iraqi forces and stabilization of the region.The reason British troops have been able to decrease their numbers is because of the progress in the region. It is not because the UK forces were defeated.And, the British troop reduction is no secret. Great Britain announced their plans several times since 2003.

Whose side are the media on?