Succes in Iraq, One Neighborhood at A Time

Fire of Liberty

As a devoted reader and scholar of military history and history in general, I scratch my head when pontificates, protesters, members of Congress and various others comment on how the war in Iraq is costing too many lives, taking too long, or isn't working as they want it to(Some are only satisfied when their isn't war, unless maybe it's Darfur) . What these individuals need to do is pick up a good history book on the Revolutionary War, the Mexican-American War, The Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and realize that situations and events turn on a dime in these war zones and things don't go like you want to and requires you to change the way you fight as you go. The best fight is one in which a force changes its fighting techniques on the go and sticks with what works in a given situation or area. After reading this piece, it looks like such techniques are indeed being applied in our current counterinsurgency fight in Iraq and is resulting in slow but steady progress within the streets and neighborhoods in Baghdad and in the rest of Iraq. I guess our military commanders have read their history and are paying attention to what is going on in their region of operations. So carry on with your noble fight.

*To get an insight in the difficulties that our soldiers and leaders face against a determined and agile enemy, I recommend you check out Ken Burns' new PBS series The War.