To summarize our current CounterInsurgency Warfare doctrine, it isn't about killing them all and letting God sort them out, its about convincing the enemy to stop fighting, then kill the rest who refuse to put down their arms. "Some people you just can't reach" says The Captain in Cool Hand Luke. This is exactly what you are seeing. Sadr doesn't want a war, that's why he extended the ceasefire. Now the last of the dead enders are going to stir up some trouble, whis is the way they wants it. Well theys get it.

The War against The War was lost long ago and not merely when Kerry went down to such well deserved defeat. Certainly if the citizenry agreed that the war were lost as of course they were saying even then, the Boston Brahmin would have won handily. No dice. Okay, so let's get a Dem majority in the Congress. Done and done. But even the Unblinking Nancy knows that the solutions the Dems promise to their braindead followers are obsolete at best. But promise they must or lose the Kos crowd and therefore the primaries. Obama showed some sense actually, in the Samantha Power incident. I hope to hell, as she said, that he meant to deal responsibly with Iraq regardless of campaign promises. Hillary was no doubt likewise bent on being sensible once in office. But now she must, if she serves her ambition, get even to the LEFT of Barry for baroque tactical reasons. Would either of these geniuses have fared better or differently from W in Iraq and with Iran? We'll never know because once the question is Who will fight the war better? McCain mops the floor with either or BOTH of these flyweights, other objectionable positions aside. So, sorry Lefties. You are not going to get the chance to throw this one. Even Edwards would not commit to withdraw forces WITHIN HIS FIRST TERM! That would have been five more years of war at that time. This is what the leftiest contender and stupidest man in American politics realized was a minimum. The backlash, well, that's where we are now but the Defeatists, properly understood, are roundly defeated.

The Left is for anything that even gives a hint of making it look like America is losing. They hang on anything slighly bad, and ignore anything good.

I've been looking for the link. But, a recent story indicated that the Iraqi government has been planning to go after the Sadr/Badr bunches down Basra way because they are effectively the mafia robbing the government and any legitimate business blind, killing people they don't like, destroying homes, burning businesses, etc, etc, etc.

Much of the oil that goes missing is filtering through the hands of the Sadrists and Badrists. they hi-jack any shipping transportation not guarded by the military, extort protection money, etc, etc, etc. No legitimate business can be done without them and they make business too expensive so iraq's economy is suffering.

Then there is that really interesting Time's piece from a day or so ago about the Quds trained Shia militia who keep setting up IEDs, attacking the government and US forces. Iran has been talking out of two sides of its face. The Iraqi government could not be seen, once again, to be pro-Iranian and let these forces keep getting away with it. Nor could Maliki be beholden to Sadr in the government anymore if he hoped to establish a legitimate government for everybody.

It's also a good way to remind the Iranians that maliki will shake their hands and smile big on the front lawn while discussing economics and electricity, but he will be killing their proxies in the back forty.

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 03/28/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.