California Conservative

According to this OpinionJournal op-ed, written by Mohammed and Omar Fadhil, states quite emphatically that the Surge is working. Look for Democrats to disparage the report despite the fact that the Fadhils live in Baghdad and can see firsthand the effects the surge is having. Expect such noteworthy ‘white flag generals’ as Little Chuckie Hagel and Jihad John Murtha to continue their criticism of the Bush administration and the military despite facts proving them wrong.

The government information campaign and the news about thousands of additional troops coming had a positive impact even before the operation started. Commanders and lieutenants of various militant groups abandoned their positions in Baghdad and in some cases fled the country. Diyala province, to the east of Baghdad, was the destination for many Sunni extremists, while Shiite militiamen went to Babil and Diwaniya in the south. Some higher-ranking members of Shiite and Sunni militant groups fled to Iran and Syria respectively. This migration motivated the government to announce supporting security measures in five provinces around Baghdad, to make sure that fleeing bad guys do not regroup in other cities.

This information won’t be enough to get the ‘White Flag Generals’ to change their opinions, at least publicly. They’d be devastated politically if they admitted that they’re wrong. That would likely end their political careers, with Hagel getting defeated by a strong primary challenger and Murtha getting beat by Diana Irey.

This paragraph shows that the jihadists, by ‘voting with their feet’, fear getting killed by the surge. It’s also encouraging that the Maliki government is now adjusting to the insurgents’ change by cutting off sanctuaries in other parts of the country. This essentially means that the insurgents and jihadists can run but they can’t hide. The goal is to eliminate them and terminate their influence.

The Iraqi commanders are also trying to give the operation a national stamp by including troops from across the country–even from Kurdistan and far provinces like Basra, where politicians and officers have been long opposed to being involved in Baghdad. Yet another aspect that makes “Imposing Law” unique is its ascending intensity. Unlike other operations that always started from a peak and soon lost momentum, this plan is becoming stricter and gaining momentum by the day as more troops pour into the city, allowing for a better implementation of the “clear and hold” strategy. People here always want the “hold” part to materialize, and feel safe when they go out and find the Army and police maintaining their posts–the bad guys can’t intimidate as long as the troops are staying.

The fact that the surge’s intensification is still ongoing must be unsettling to the insurgents. The disappearance of political protection is likely having an unsettling affect on the insurgents too. Taking away their ability to find sanctuary to regroup forces them to keep fighting without regrouping or resupplying themselves.

The Iraqi people themselves are playing their role in the plan. Recent figures from U.S. officers in Baghdad show that the joint forces have been receiving an average of 250 security tips from civilians since the beginning of the operation, about twice previous figures. With help from a government-appointed committee, people in some Baghdad neighborhoods are returning occupied mosques to their original keepers and worshipers, and holding joint prayers between the two sects in mixed neighborhoods.

This paragraph, more than the others I’ve cited, must be the most unsettling to the insurgents. Their having their cover stripped away by the people exposes them like never before. If this continues, then it’s possible that we’ll look back in hindsight and point to this as a major corner having been turned. What’s most disheartening for insurgents are the “joint prayers between the two sects”. That’s a sign that they can’t play one faction off the other.

What this means is that facts on the ground appear to be changing. A changing set of facts means a shrinking amount of cover for White Flag Generals like Murtha and Hagel. Driving them out of Washington would be almost as satisfying as defeating the jihadists. Almost but not quite.

I strongly encourage you to read the entire op-ed.

Technorati Tags: Iraq War, White Flag Generals, John Murtha, Chuck Hagel, Defeatocrats, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 8:23 am and is filed under Author: Gary Gross, Blogging, Election 2008, Iraq, Liberals, Military, Subversives, Terrorism, W. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.