Winds of Change?

Some good stuff here.

The Winds of Al-Anbar

Acute Politics

The intra-Sunni fighting in Al-Anbar province is continuing, and the violence is rising. Bill Roggio has done a good job gathering the information here, here, here and here.


I'll also try my hand at laying out some of the recent events below, and explain a little bit of how the various elements you may hear about in the news are related. I've distilled a fair bit of material from Bill, other news sources, and personal knowledge. I don't have a lot of time, so this will probably be sloppy and fairly unedited (sounds familiar, right?).

Since the start of the year, Al-Qaeda In Iraq has attempted 11 chlorine VBIEDs, 9 in Al-Anbar, 1 in Tadji, and one in Baghdad. Of those, 9 have detonated with varying degrees of success, and 2 were found and disabled in Ramadi. The most recent attacks were early this morning in downtown Falluja, outside the government center. Iraqi troops engaged two trucks just after 0630, causing both to explode just short of the base.

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Troop Reaction to the Democrats

Blackfive

Previously, I had asked for and received a lot of email from troops around the world (but mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan) about the Democrat resolutions for retreat...especially, in the face of the surge and a new Commanding General that the Democrats unamimously approved of...

I haven't received one troop email that supports the Democrat position of cut and run.

From a soldier just returned to Ft. Hood from Iraq:

A lot of the guys in my unit can't stand the weak, whiny, nonsense that is comming from Congress. I know it makes me sick to think these people get...to run our great country into the ground.

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Polecat-Americans

J. D. Pendry

Polecat…any of several carnivorous mammals of the weasel family… any of various common omnivorous black-and-white New World mammals of the weasel family that have a pair of perineal glands from which a secretion of pungent and offensive odor is ejected… an obnoxious or disliked person – Merriam-Webster OnLine

How’s your morning commute? Mine is mostly pleasant. By choice, half of it is on a winding two-lane blacktop through the countryside. US Route 60 if you’re curious. It doesn’t have the maniacs one encounters on the DC Beltway (did that commute too), but it does have its adventures. It is a slalom of dead possums, raccoons, combative whistle pigs and deer. Nothing I encounter along the way, however, quite comes up to what a polecat recently converted to pavement pizza can do to an otherwise pleasant Spring morning. The lingering stench from exploded perineal glands overwhelms your olfactory senses and permeates your vehicle. It easily surpasses the gag factor and linger of pinto bean generated methane.

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RUBS #2

Michael Yon

One key aspect of General Petraeus’ new operations in Iraq is to put out a large number of “Combat Outposts,” or COPs. The idea of the COPs is not new, but it is proven, and is similar to local law enforcement in the United States opening precinct stations in high crime districts. Though the idea of precinct stations is steady-state (the cops plan to keep precincts open), here in Iraq, part of the idea is to first bring stability – by dampening the vibrant civil war for instance – but ultimately turning Iraq back over to the Iraqis.

From the Advisors -- Bombs in Baghdad

Small Wars Journal

It has been an interesting few weeks here in Baghdad. Myself and the other advisors felt that a comment on recent developments might be in order. It is still early days for Fardh al-Qanoon (a.k.a the “Baghdad Security Plan”) and thus too soon to tell for sure how things will play out. But, though the challenges remain extremely severe, early trends are quite positive. Counter-intuitively, the latest series of car bombings includes some encouraging signs.

On March 17th Al Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) set off a truck bomb, including chlorine gas canisters, in a Sunni marketplace. Though everyone affected by the gas walked away, there were about 250 injured, and the attack happened on the 19th anniversary, to the day, of Saddam’s use of poison gas against the Kurds at Halabja. Local Sunnis were appalled and furious.

Think about that for a moment. If insurgents are the fish, and the community is the sea in which they swim, then AQI just showed an incredible level of desperation – attacking its own potential constituents, applying a uniquely repellent form of attack, and emulating Saddam on the anniversary of one of his worst atrocities, into the bargain. What were they thinking?

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