I don’t have any embedded reporters or intelligence on the ground in Iraq, but I’m guessing that despite the media’s breathless coverage of Operation Phantom Fury Dawn al-Fajr the attack on Fallujah, we’re not going to see a culminating Alamo-type stand where U.S forces crush the evildoers. At least not if the insurgents have any sense. Most of them will simply melt into the general population and continue their bombings and shootings somewhere else.
And all the while we’ll continue to hear about the “brilliance” of the Iraqi invasion, and how we’re about to turn the corner on the violence there. Even as the death toll continues to climb.
What a mess.
Even after a year and a half of this turmoil, there are still plenty of Iraqis who apparently still prefer their home-grown violence over our imported version:
In a key political development, the Iraqi Islamic Party withdrew from the 100-person interim National Council in protest of the offensive.
“Military action against any city is the wrong answer and will not solve anything,” said Mohsen Abdul Hamid, head of the group.
As long as people continue to resent American forces in Iraq, there’s going to be violence. And there doesn’t appear to be an end to that in sight.
Yes, I, too, am concerned we haven’t solved all our problems overnight. I shudder to think it may actually take a couple of years to get Iraq to where it needs to be.