Less than two years ago, U.S. military leaders used words like dire and dim to describe the political and military setbacks they faced in rousting al-Qaeda from its Iraqi birthplace and stronghold in Anbar province. On Labor Day, the moment many thought might never come became a reality. U.S. forces turned over primary security responsibility in the province to Iraqi troops, a significant milestone in the conflict. Progress had been slow but is now steady and, we hope, lasting.

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez ignited a political firestorm when she authorized a film crew to shoot a documentary inside the jail without first clearing it with county commissioners. Apparently, District Attorney Craig Watkins learned from that skirmish, and this week got the commissioners court's blessing to allow the Discovery Channel to film a documentary about his office's efforts to free the wrongly convicted. Sometimes it pays to ask.

Evidently, the folks setting the rules at the Republican National Committee didn't see the same bunched-up primaries the rest of us saw this year. Otherwise, they would have done the rational thing and created a rotating set of regional primaries for 2012. Alas, that didn't happen. Republican rules-makers decided to stick with the current method, which means Republican primaries probably will get bunched up early again in 2012. Who knows, maybe they can get all 50 primaries in by Jan. 31. Seriously, what's so wrong with rotating primaries from region to region on a monthly basis? More voters would have more time to examine the candidates.

It's bad enough that Fort Worth residents have to tolerate the Big Cheese Rodent Factory, which breeds up to 600,000 mice and rats a month, but now it wants to expand. The facility was allowed to open four years ago despite violating a zoning ordinance and has been cited as an odor nuisance and other related violations. Neighbors complain that the rodents are stinking up the area so badly that they're driving away business. Now, Big Cheese is seeking permission to expand its facility because of heavy demand from snake breeders and falconers, among others. There's a proper place for this kind of business, and neighbors have a right to raise a stink.

You have to be especially cold to steal handheld radios from Dallas Fire-Rescue stations. The culprits, who did their handi work in August, are now suspected of using at least five stolen radios to disrupt communications with emergency responders. In other circumstances, it might be easy to dismiss this as the work of some merry pranksters taking advantage of the stations' open doors and unguarded facilities. But considering that it affects responders' ability to save lives and property, this is a bad joke of potentially horrific consequences.