Iraqi troops supported by an American battalion have begun “clearing operations” in Samarra, isolating the city by sealing a berm that rings the east side of the city.
The "surge" is really just a modified form of the same basic tried and true strategy for counter-insurgency. We clear the enemy from specific areas and then secure them to rebuild. The surge difference is that we have American troops to do not only the clearing but the holding. We had hoped to use Iraqis for holding, but the enemy has been too tough for the green Iraqis to cope with.
So now we target the jihadis and the Sadr boys to reduce the enemy threat and supress violence, recuding the threat of civil war; while stripping the Baathists of their dwindling Sunni Arab support by cutting deals with non-jihadi Sunni Arab Iraqis to end their fight. And our mere presence keeps the Shias and Kurds from exacting revenge and preventing the dwindling Sunni Arabs from essentially surrendering.
In addition, this is the city where Sunni jihadis and Shia thugs began their efforts to ignite civil war by destroying the Golden Dome mosque in February 2006. The enemy recently tried again by taking down the remaining minarets.
So it is fitting that Iraqis take the lead in snuffing out enemy resistance here. The Iraqi government will need to be able to carry out this type of operation in far more places to allow us to eventually pull back from the direct internal fight.
Secretary Gates sees progress in Iraq but he knows that American forces cannot be the source of this success for long:
“I am optimistic on the security side because of what I see in al Anbar and what we're seeing in some of the other provinces where we're getting some cooperation,” Gates said. “I think some of the positive political developments have come in areas where we didn’t expect it.”
The key to continuing this success is, “not only establishing the security, but being able to hold onto those areas,” he said.
It’s also critical for the Iraqi Army and police “to be able to provide the continuity of that security over time,” Gates said. “It's under that umbrella, I think, progress will be made at a national level.”
Ultimately, the surge must increase Iraqi ability to fight with less direct US help on the battlefield.
