Despite the risk of death, Iraqis of every background came out to vote on two separate significant occasions last year. Despite the fear and the grim picture being painted on the situation in Iraq, the terrorists proved powerless to halt the country's progress. Despite the murder and the terror to instill deep fear upon people who would be free, the Iraqi people continue to send a clear mission to Islam’s most perverted adherents and the Arab elite throughout the region. Never before in the Arab world have a country's citizens been permitted to vote on the laws that would govern them. Even if Iraq must endure further blood shed, this is a historic moment in the Middle East. One that will prove to be a turning point for the Arab and Persian future and one that will be a historical era for our future security. Our media's and individual response? "These votes don't matter." "The Iraqi government is a puppet government." "Their new constitution's flawed." "Iraq's Sunni Arabs will resort to civil war." The voices of doom are always in a hurry to turn any bit of light into the grimmest story line.
When the Marines took down Fallujah the second time after being halted by politicians just prior to mission accomplashment the first time, we began the strategically important process of interdicting the insurgents' infiltration routes from the Syrian border into the heart of Iraq. One ratline followed the Euphrates River corridor — running from Syria to Husayba on the Syrian border and then through Qaim, Rawa, Haditha, Asad, Hit, and Fallujah to Baghdad. The other follows the course of the Tigris — from the north through Mosul-Tel Afar to Tikrit and on to Baghdad. Operations followed throughout the spring and summer of 2005. While the earlier operations succeeded in keeping the pressure on the insurgents in Al-Anbar province we could not prevent the insurgents from abandoning one town and moving to another not threatened by allied forces.
That began to change around September 2005 and one of the reasons is that our forces are able to apply simultaneous force against the insurgent strongholds and, more important, to stay in the area because many Iraqi units are now able to conduct combat operations with minimal U.S. support. This kind of information is usually not a matter for public attention, because every time a soldier of “Allah” decides to get to heaven faster, he destroys civilian lives for the entertainment of media cameras.
This is the reason the insurgent attacks are lower. They simply have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to once they are found.
By the way.......by contrast, it took 14 months to establish a police force in Germany and 10 years to begin training a new German army. I'd say we have come a long way in "just" three years. Perhaps some of you should get off your asses and throw on a uniform and show us how it is done.
