This is why I've long advocated local defense forces. By organizing Iraqis (who have access to small arms as it is) to defend their local neighborhoods, they keep the enemy from walking into a town and terrorizing it. Give the locals the ability to call for help and the enemy can't afford to spend the time to really beat up on a town before they have to bug out before the professionals with guns and firepower support react.
And these forces keep the enemy from infiltrating the areas since small numbers of the enemy can be killed by the locals.
Al Qaeda hit two Shia towns 60 miles north of Baghdad:
Dozens of suspected Sunni insurgents raided Shiite villages north of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and setting homes ablaze, police said. A bicycle bomb exploded at a cafe serving tea and food during the Ramadan fast in northern Iraq. ...
Brig. Gen. Joe Anderson, chief of staff to the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said al-Qaida fighters were "off-balance" and had "clearly been neutralized" in Baghdad.
"They are very fractured. It's very localized and the ability for them to conduct large-scale, sensational attacks has been greatly decreased," Anderson said at a news conference.
In the raids on the Shiite villages of Jichan and Ghizlayat, the fighters arrived from several different directions and residents fought back until Iraqi security forces arrived and forced the attackers to flee to nearby farms.
Iraqi police and army officials said 15 people were killed and 10 wounded, including two children, in the clashes some 60 miles north of Baghdad.
No mention of enemy casualties.
But the villages held. And called for help, which led to the terrorists retreating.
Note that this worked as a defense should. The locals weren't helpless when attacked. And were able to call for help. And then help arrived.
Hopefully, the help is looking for the attackers in order to hunt them down and kill them.
"Dozens" is not a whole lot for two attacks. And rather than hitting something of strategic value, the enemy just tried to hit civilians. And the enemy apparently couldn't scrounge up a suicide car bomber. They had to use small arms and try and kill the old fashoned way. Which is more risky for the enemy.
Finally, as part of an enemy effort to kill during Ramadan, will the twits who insisted that Moslems never fight during Ramadan finally admit this error? Remember those Lefty "Ramadan truce" articles back in fall 2001?
The locals want to fight al Qaeda. Help them defend themselves.
