Iraq and Afghanistan

As the fighting in Falluja moves toward its inevitable end, we have learned at least some things. First, with present tactics, we cannot “take” a city without largely destroying it. Second, there appear to be thousands of insurgents who are willing to sacrifice their lives in what are essentially hopeless encounters. Well-armed, some of these have been able to exact a considerable price before they are cut down. Second, the forces defending urban targets are quite capable of moving from city to city, and perhaps back again as we leave. The insufficiency of American forces to take on the endless series of threats that this promises is suggested by the outbreak of heavy insurgent attacks in Mosul as we were trying to end up our campaign in Falluja. Due to these attacks, Mosul, a considerably larger city, has been starting to fall under the control of the insurgents in the last few days. To save the situation, the Stryker Brigade that had been fully involved in Falluja was hurriedly taken out of that battle and sent back to Mosul. The national police and other government forces have been badly hurt once again by the hit and run tactics of the insurgents. But many of the insurgent attacks were also beaten back. Kurdish forces appear to have done better than most. They are after all units that have fought together for years, not groups of people hired off the streets in the last few months to defend the country. Mosul is a mixed city and the Sunni Arab dominated insurgency will not have free sailing.

Even after clearing operations in Ramadi last month, guerrillas seem to be appearing openly on the streets once again, with the Marines pretty much tied down in their stations. There were also more attacks in Baghdad yesterday. In Kirkuk they tried to kill the provincial governor. In Baquba thirty men attacked a government post but were driven off. Mortar attacks were made in Hawija and a car bomb went off in Hilla. And so it goes. The pace has picked up a little in answer to the attack on Falluja, but actions are pretty much in the same pattern that we have seen for months. In the Triangle and neighboring areas there is just not that much progress toward getting control over this movement. Their foot soldiers are getting so emboldened and morale seems so high that it may not matter as much as we thought if the people turn against them. After all, gangs in Sicily, Naples, and elsewhere have managed to exert continuing control over their communities even when they came to be hated by average civilians — and when life expectancy for the average member was not that promising.