Winning On Offense

Now That The Troops Are In Place

I wonder if Reid can sleep at night. Perhaps he lays his head in nancy’s lap and she strokes he deflated and low approval ratings head?

WINNING ON OFFENSE; REAL PLAN TO DEFEAT IRAQ FOESHALLELUJAH!

For the first time since Baghdad fell, our military in Iraq has a comprehensive, integrated plan to defeat our enemies.

Until now, our efforts have always been piecemeal, stop-start affairs. Even our success in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 went unexploited.

Things have changed. And terrorists, not just Iraqi civilians, are dying.

The 10,000-man operation reported in the Baquba area is only one part of a broader effort. In the words of a well-placed officer in Baghdad, “Operations like that are going on around Fallujah, Salman Pak, in Eastern Anbar, the belts around Baghdad, in Arab Jabour, outside of Taji and throughout the Diyala River Valley.”

This widespread offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and other terrorists is part of a carefully developed, phased plan. The first step as the troop surge proceeded was to establish livable conditions in key neighborhoods of the capital.

That step was vital, but insufficient in itself. Terrorists fled, but they didn’t disappear. They just sought refuge elsewhere. And while neighborhood pacification involved aggressive tactical actions, it ultimately put our forces in a defensive posture.

And you can’t win solely by playing defense, either in the NFL or in war.

Gen. David Petraeus understood that. He’s done things methodically, operating from a coherent design - not just reacting as was our practice in the past, but imposing our will on the enemy. After regaining lost ground in Baghdad and exploiting Sunni Arab disillusionment with al Qaeda in Anbar Province, our military took the offensive. We pushed the enemy off “our” turf. Now we’re going after “their” turf.

This balance between defensive and offensive operations, integrated across central Iraq, is the first time we’ve seen a classic approach to military operations in post-Saddam Iraq. Amazing, but true.

What hurdles lie ahead?

First, it remains an open question whether we’ve got enough boots on the ground. While Petraeus and his team are using our forces with remarkable efficiency, there ain’t no more to send.

That was page 1. Page 2 is even better.