Kill, Capture, or put to flight

Hope:

So a big offensive has started in Iraq, going after Al-Qaeda and Iranian funded militias. I notice with some sadness that in Baqouba, 80% of the senior leaders got out before we got in, but, to be blunt, putting them to flight isn't bad. They claimed Baqouba as their capital, and have been driven from it. Contrary to idiotic beliefs, there isn't much space safe for them anymore. North of Baqouba, their are many battle hardened Iraqi soldiers, back from helping in Baghdad, who have proven themselves good enough for independant operations. Around Baghdad, the surge is in full swing, and the south of Iraq is full of people unfriendly to Al-Qaeda. The terrorists are running out of hiding places. If we keep this up, we win. If we run away, Iraq may be able to survive, but it isn't guaranteed. Iraqi politics are as bad as ours, but if we reduce violence, they are more likely to fix their other problems.

Sad Reality:

But, really, does anyone thing we're not running away? The war has been declared lost in Washington, so we are probably going to lose due to our political climate. I hope not, but I think even if this surge gets results, we'll still leave before the job is done, like Vietnam. Unless America decides to get guts again ( yeah right ).

What the military got wrong in Iraq.

I think that America has gotten many things wrong in Iraq. Now, they are getting a bit better now, but many things happening now could have started years ago. Example: Patrolling with Iraqi police and Army from forward operating bases. Now, casualties are higher, but so is the effectiveness. We should have done this from the beginning. A shorter war means less casualties in the long term. It took a random Marine commander trying this out in Anbar last year for the military to start this. Guess what? even CNN says Anbar has gotten a lot better. Allying with secular tribal leaders is another thing we could have done earlier. Those two strategies made Anbar much safer.

Secondly, they didn't give the Iraqis enough heavy equipment. They claim artillery and strike aircraft aren't useful against an insurgency, so don't get the Iraqis any, but then use them both to destroy enemy strongholds. The fighting in Lebanon has proven that artillery works on terrorists, so the Iraqis might need them. Now, a cynic might say this is because they fear those weapons being used against us. Except we let the Iraqi army have tanks. Heck, were sending them a couple hundred now. Artillery would be useful to the Iraqis, as would attack helicopters and jets. Without those, how the heck are they going to fight their enemies, and how will we be able to leave? Without firepower nearly as good as ours, they can't survive, its that simple. Now, the emergency spending bill gives them tanks and other armored vehicles, and thats good, but theirs no news about a better Air Force or any kind of artillery. After all that fuss in Congress, the Iraqis still don't have enough firepower for us to leave, much less for them to be effective.