J. Wing claims Iraq is not getting more violent, but J. Mattis sounds not so sure

Here is the latest
from Joel Wing.

But General James Mattis, the head of Centcom, appeared last
optimistic in his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Asked by Sen. John McCain if al Qaeda is making a comeback in Iraq, Mattis
said, "Yes, sir, notably in the western Iraq area. But the threat is extending
into Baghdad." Returning to the subject later in the hearing, he added, "It's
not significant. It won't threaten the government. It'll kill a lot of innocent
people."  

Mattis also sounded quite dovish on Iran. "…[T]he best
we can do…is to delay them. Only the Iranian people can stop this
program."

I was also struck that General Dempsey, the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs, in his own Senate testimony yesterday commented that Syria's air
defense system is "approximately five times" more sophisticated than those NATO
aircraft faced in Libya.

Is that called burying the lede?