“Today we launched a new operation called Phantom Phoenix,” Odierno said. “That operation is focused on the pursuit and neutralization of remaining al Qaeda and extremist elements.”
The operation includes thousands of coalition and Iraqi troops and will last between 60 and 90 days, the general said.
“We began that (effort) early this morning with a significant amount of military operations to eradicate the potential for any safe havens,” he said. “The majority of these operations will occur in northeastern Diyala, the Diyala River Valley and Ninevah province. We will continue to pursue this enemy until he is no longer.”
Coalition and Iraqi forces also will continue to focus on the car, truck and suicide bomb networks in Baghdad. “They are very small, but we want to eliminate them completely,” the general said.
Security forces also are aiming at the al Qaeda financial network operating around the oil industry in Iraq. “We believe that al Qaeda is trying to use some of this to fund their activities, and we have put together a joint, interagency cell to really focus on this, so we can do some precision targeting and get after this financial network,” Odierno said.
It is more than just a military operation, with an effort looking to clean up enemy financing through tapping into the oil industry. This looks like a counter-criminal enterprise operation as much as a military operation.
Indeed, initial reports show little enemy overt resistance:
The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq said Wednesday a nationwide operation launched against insurgents was meeting less resistance than expected, but that troops would pursue the militants until they were dead or pushed out of the country.
And Strategypage notes one advantage of knocking back the terrorists is that we can devote resources to the criminal gangs that support the terrorists:
U.S. and Iraqi military operations against terrorists have been so successful in the last year that the security forces have now been able to turn their attention to the many criminal gangs that have flourished in the midst of the terrorist and sectarian mayhem. The gangs are often part of terrorist organizations, which finance their violence with criminal scams. Smuggling, counterfeiting, kidnapping and extortion are favorites. The less religious gangs also deal in booze and prostitution. Many gangs provide support services for the terrorists. Everything from selling and smuggling weapons and bomb materials, to manufacturing suicide and roadside bombs, and even placing them. ...
But this crackdown on crime has created new opportunities to hurt the remaining terrorists groups. The criminals, when caught, or facing some serious damage to their organization, will try to negotiate. The gangsters do have something quite valuable to trade; information on what terrorists (they have worked with) are up to, or just how they operated (and with who.) No honor among thieves, especially now since most Iraqis see terrorism as a dead end and a lost cause.
I assume the operations targetting enemy finances reflects this aspect of the war. And the ability to go after gangs will allow us to after the terrorists more effectively--a virtuous cycle is being created with progress in one area promoting progress in others.
This is what pursuit and exploitation looks like. Have no doubt we are winning this war. This doesn't mean that our remaining enemies won't fight back or find a way to regain the initiative, but our ability to pursue means that the latter is less likely.
And if President Bush visits Iraq on his Middle East tour, keeping the terrorists busy in Iraq worryinbg about surviving right now is surely a good idea.
UPDATE: While direct resistance is not high, six of our soldiers died in a boobytrapped house in one incident:
Six soldiers were killed and four were wounded Wednesday in a booby-trapped house in Diyala, the U.S. command said. It also announced that three U.S. soldiers were killed and two wounded in an attack Tuesday in Salahuddin province, north of Diyala.
Winning does not mean we've won. Or that going out every day after the bad guys isn't still dangerous. though make no mistake, it is more dangerous for the enemy:
The air raid was followed by a ground attack that led to 12 arrests and the discovery of two houses used to torture kidnap victims, according to an Iraqi army officer. He said the troops faced no resistance.
A military statement said two B-1 bombers and four F-16 fighters dropped the bombs on 40 targets in Arab Jabour in 10 strikes. Al-Qaida fighters are believed to control Arab Jabour, a Sunni district lined with citrus groves and scarred by daily violence.
The offensive will continue.
