The Redhunter

The bombs are as bad today as ever. The enemy learned several years ago, for instance, that during dust storms or bad weather, their advantages multiply because not only are they better able to lay the explosive, but we are less likely to have air support or medevac. Since the bad weather itself can serve to camouflage or cloak the bombs, the enemy is more likely to successfully mount a sustained attack and get away. This is no secret or it would not be on this page. The enemy knows these things.

Lest we think that all is gloom and doom, Yon has some good news. This first bit is something that should be required reading by those Congressional Democrats who tell us that the Bush Administration is deliberately screwing the troops by providing them with substandard equipment

Back in 2005, when I hardly knew the name “Stryker,” I came into combat with the 1-24th Infantry Regiment. I believe it was SFC Robert Bowman who told me that his soldiers so disliked the idea of the Stryker, that when they finally got Strykers at Fort Lewis, the soldiers tried their best to break the machines in training. SFC Bowman might refute this, and I’m not sure he was the man who told me, but Bowman is certainly the man who told me that all his soldiers were converts even before they finished training.

Here's a Stryker from another source on the Internet.

In his July 19 post, Yon describes a meeting in Baqubah conducted by Colonel Steve Townsend, commander of the 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team. In attendance were Iraqi Army officers and former insugent leaders.

This is, I think, significant. One of the ways in which insurgencies are defeated is by bringing some of the more moderate ones into the government. On the one hand it doesn't seem right (aren't we rewarding criminal behavior?) but the fact is it does work and it's part of every successful counter-insurgency campaign.

The discussion revolves around "7 Rules and 1 Oath". The conversation, as Yon descrives it, is intelligent and thoughtful. Read the whole thing.

To be sure, it's always dangerous to rely too much on the reporting of any one individual. Yon sees Iraq through a straw. One thing I think we've all noticed about Iraq is that you can get diametrically opposed views of "how it's going" depending on which journalist you read. So take it for what it's worth.

What's the Weather Like?

Michael Totten is also in Iraq and says it feels like a blowtorch

You know how it feels when you get into a black car in the afternoon with the windows rolled up in July? It’s an inferno outside, but inside the car it’s even hotter? That’s how Iraq feels in the shade. Sunlight burns like a blowtorch. If you don’t wear a helmet or soft cap the sun will cook your brain. First you get headaches. Then you end up in the hospital.

Unlike Yon, Totten is in Baghdad, where he says daily life is not quite like you'd think from reading daily news reports.

You’d think explosions and gunfire define Iraq if you look at this country from far away on the news. They do not. The media is a total distortion machine. Certain areas are still extremely violent, but the country as a whole is defined by heat, not war, at least in the summer. It is Iraq’s most singular characteristic. I dread going outside because it’s hot, not because I’m afraid I will get hurt.

Interview with Number 2

If Yon and Totten see the war through a straw, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno sees it from 50,000 feet. Odierno second-in-command to Petraeus at MNF-Iraq. Thursday he gave a press conference, which you can watch

It's also posted at DefenseLink. Read or watch the whole thing, but here are parts of his initial briefing

My observations and the indicators include that the Iraqi people are clearly rejecting al Qaeda and assisting coalition forces and Iraqi force in liberating their towns and villages, large numbers of Sunni tribesmen volunteering for the police as well as the army, a decrease in sectarian violence and displacement of individuals, willingness of armed groups to establish and observe cease-fires with coalition forces and Iraqi security forces. ...

I also want to highlight, though, that the Iraqi security forces do in fact continue to grow and get better. They have shown a willingness to fight and take casualties, which has not always been the case. They have greatly improved their tactical proficiency and have placed more effective command-and-control structures in place, such as the Baghdad Operational Command. Their special operational forces are operating side by side with coalition forces throughout the country.
...

The key difference of our ongoing operations is that we are not giving up any of the hard-fought gains. We are staying until the Iraqi security forces have the ability to control that battlespace. In this respect, we are working extremely hard with the government of Iraq to establish locally recruited police as well as coordinating with the Iraqi army to ensure long-term stability. This is a tough task and will require the concerted efforts of the government of Iraq with coalition support.

The part about "not giving up any of our hard-fought gains" is significant. Last October, General Casey, then in command of MNF-Iraq, tried to wrest control of the capital from the insurgents. As was reported at the time, we were able to clear areas of the city, but we weren't able to hold them bercause we didn't have enough troops. The other issue that caused the operation to fail was the miserable performance of several Iraqi Army units.

"The Real War"

Lastly, StrategyPage points out that for all the importance of military operations, one huge problem is the level of corruption in Iraq (and other third-world countries), which is at epidemic proportions. It makes it hard to get anything done

Corruption is pervasive throughout the Middle East, and so common that it is simply accepted by most locals and foreign visitors. But the inability to create a civil society leads to widespread incompetence in government. ...

Iraq, and most of the countries in the Middle East, are broken. They have been for a long time. We in the West have generally ignored it, because there were no workable solutions that were easily available. Then came the latest wave of Islamic terrorism.

So whether anyone likes it or not we're in Iraq, and leaving prematurely would be a disaster, not only for the Iraqi people, not only for the United States, but for the West as a whole. This war isn't just about al Qaeda or even Iraq. It's about a global jihadist threat. Even so, al Qaeda is our most dangerous enemy, at least in the short term. They're in Iraq, and that's one place we need to fight them.