The Battle For Baghdad

Tonight President Bush announced our revised strategy for achieving victory in Iraq. It wasn't a great speech, but it was adequate. How can you give a great speech when everyone in the world knows what you are going to say?

My short version is that the War in Iraq has come done to the Battle for Baghdad. So the war goes from bad to worse. Instead of fighting a guerilla war, we are fighting a guerilla war in a dense urban environment.

The President has committed additional troops and they are on the way:

So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. The vast majority of them -- five brigades -- will be deployed to Baghdad. These troops will work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs.

The Battle for Baghdad has already begun. It started Saturday when the Iraqi army killed 30 militants and arrested several others, including a number of Sudanese nationals, in Baghdad. The battle continued Tuesday as at least 50 militants were killed in a Sunni stronghold of Baghdad.

The fighting comes after Iraq's Prime Minister Maliki pledged the Iraqi army, supported by US forces, would take action against all illegal armed groups:

Mr. Maliki said the new security plan would create inconveniences for the people of Baghdad, but it was for their own good.

In a speech to mark Iraqi Army Day, he said: "We will rely on our armed forces to forcefully implement the plan and the multinational forces will support our forces."

He added: "There will be no refuge from this plan for anyone who is operating beyond the law, regardless of their sect or their political affiliation."

Tonight President Bush shared more details of the action:

The Iraqi government will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police brigades across Baghdad's nine districts. When these forces are fully deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades committed to this effort, along with local police. These Iraqi forces will operate from local police stations -- conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints, and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents.

According to ABC, the new plan divides Baghdad into nine separate sections with one army and police battalion devoted to each section:

The additional U.S. troops being sent to Baghdad will be divided among the nine sections of the city, nearly doubling U.S. combat power in the region.

In a switch from the current course of action, these U.S. forces will be housed in the very neighborhoods they patrol. Military planners tell ABC News there will eventually be about 30 mini bases, called joint security stations, scattered around Baghdad, housing both U.S. and Iraqi troops

This is all in recognition of the fact that 80 percent of the sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles of Baghdad. But there is more. President Bush noted our commanders see an opportunity to deal a serious blow to the terrorists in Anbar. We will therefore increase American forces in Anbar Province by 4,000 troops.

There was also a warning to Syria and :

Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins with addressing and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in .

The President also responded to the demands of the Democratic Congressional leadership that U.S. troops be withdrawn from Iraq, or as the Democrats like to say, "redeployed:"

Many are concerned that the Iraqis are becoming too dependent on the United States, and therefore, our policy should focus on protecting Iraq's borders and hunting down al Qaeda. Their solution is to scale back America's efforts in Baghdad -- or announce the phased withdrawal of our combat forces. We carefully considered these proposals. And we concluded that to step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government, tear the country apart, and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale. Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more lethal.

President Bush included a response to the Iraq Study Group announcing additional embedding of U.S. forces in Iraqi units:

In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi Army units, and partner a coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped army, and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential U.S. security mission in Iraq. We will give our commanders and civilians greater flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance. We will double the number of provincial reconstruction teams. These teams bring together military and civilian experts to help local Iraqi communities pursue reconciliation, strengthen the moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi self-reliance. And Secretary Rice will soon appoint a reconstruction coordinator in Baghdad to ensure better results for economic assistance being spent in Iraq.

Additional economic incentives for the Iraqi's are also part of the plan:

To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution.

And in a move certain to truly annoy the Democrats' left-wing, the President announced that acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman, and others, a new bipartisan working group will be formed to "help us come together across party lines to win the war on terror."

So what do I think about this way forward in Iraq? Well, as one of those still unrepentant supporters of the war, what choice do I have? If the changes detailed by Prime Minister Malaki and President Bush mean the militias will be eliminated, if the warning to and Syria is backed up with meaningful actions, if the Iraqi forces stand up with this additional help, well, then there is a chance we can achieve victory in Iraq. If not, the Democratic leadership will have its way and the troops will be "redeployed." Then we will find out what an Iraq civil war really looks like. Then we will find out what additional havoc a triumphant will wreak. Then we will see how formidable al-Qaeda will become when it can brag that it kicked the U.S. out of Iraq just like it kicked the Soviets out of Afghanistan, causing the evil empire's destruction.

I'll continue to stand with President Bush.

Comments

[reddog]

Another moderated blog by a guy who won't put his name on the marquee.

You're so manly and brave.

I can see why you stand proudly with the President.

www.muddleoftheroad.blogspot.com