It seems like every day there’s more violence in Iraq. On Monday, another 21 people died and at least 96 were wounded when a car bomb exploded outside the main United States-Iraqi headquarters.

We are desensitized to the violence in Iraq, as surges of violence plague their cities.

But Gen. John Abizaid said the news is wrong. The media is making Iraq into a bloodbath when it is not.

“I do think there is a general lack of understanding in the United States as to how it’s going,” he told CNN at the end of September.

It’s hard to misunderstand more than 250 deaths of Iraqis and 29 U.S. military personnel listed in the same article.

Still, there is progress. U.S.-led forces are getting closer to reclaiming Samarra, Reuters reported Sunday, with about 3,000 U.S. and 2,000 Iraqi troops populating the city and 70 percent of the city under U.S. control.

In a war many condemned, it’s too late to turn back. U.S.-led forces have made the first step toward getting Iraq under control. Elections are set to be held in January, but it’s questionable whether anybody’s actually going to vote.

There are spurts of violence that are too “insignificant” or unknown to the press. Abizaid was right, in a way; the United States probably is missing a lot of what is happening in Iraq.

It is almost foolish to think people will go outside to vote, risking their lives in the face of insurgents and terror networks. Violence is common in many areas across the country, endangering polling places.

Abizaid was asked if this violence will affect the vote, and he denied it, stating that there is an “interest in having the elections.” In Afghanistan, 10 million people have been registered, he said, comparing the two countries.

But we all know from our own elections that registering means little. It’s the actual intent to vote that matters. Will the people of Iraq risk their lives to vote? Do they think a process set up by a country many are disenchanted with will work?

It’s doubtful. The U.S. military blocks the roads to cemeteries, leaving families unable to bury their dead. Their trust is waning in the face of violence and neglect. Our trust is waning in the face of retracted statements of Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Little has changed in the past few months. Apologies were said, and some progress has been made.

It’s becoming difficult to believe that the violence is winding down and the election will succeed in making Iraq a democracy. The violence, downplayed by government officials, is the first sign.