Phoenix Rising

Just yesterday I was contemplating the apparent increase in attacks on Iraqi security forces by the enemy. We need Iraqis to fight the war and I worried that such attacks might intimidate the personnel we are training to carry on the fight. I see no indications of this but thought there could be an imbalance where anonymous Baathists did not fear for their families while public police and security forces did have that fear. To counter this terror, I thought it might be a good idea to go after the enemy leaders to instill fear in them. Capture or kill them in the dark of night and they would start to fear carrying out terror just as they fear taking on our troops directly.

Then I read this from Strategypage:

Western journalists have a hard enough time covering the battle involving American troops, but they are almost completely cut out of this other war. All you hear reported is the occasional killing of a prominent Sunni Arab (usually a clergyman). But the body count on both sides is quite high, and trending against the Sunni Arabs. If the Sunnis gather together in large groups, to overwhelm local police, they risk getting caught, and demolished by American troops. Operating in smaller groups, and there is increasing danger from Shia Arab (and even Kurdish) death squads. This is a very dirty war, which will eventually get reported as such.

The Shias and Kurds are doing what they have to do in the face of a brutal enemy that does not like losing its neck-stomping role. I'm just as glad the press has not caught on to this aspect of the war.