Most people with a more then a passing interest in what is happening in Iraq knows that there is a big operation going on in the Diyala province, centered on the town of Baqubah. It involves more then 10,000 US troops and thousands more of the Iraqi army. It seems all our news here in the states have time for is the latest updates on the missing women in the Midwest, some senile judge suing over a pair of pants and the out of touch politicians on capitol hill trying to foist this universal amnesty program on us.
The fighting in the Diyala province is being reported by a couple of embedded reporters through their blogs and for that a big debt of gratitude is due to them. Michael Yon reports that maybe some other reporters may be joining him. Gee a week into the operation and they can finally get off their butts in the Green Zone and find out what all this stuff put out in the daily press briefing is all about. You want to know the real reason they aren't reporting on it. They are afraid that if they actually get out in the field they are going to find a different Iraq. One that goes completely against their biases and the storyline they have been promoting for 5 years.
I do not expect the reporting to change. They will bring you the desperation and their armchair quarterbacking of how flawed our operations are, but it won't change what is happening on the ground.
What is happening is the Iraqi people are stepping up and assisting in ways not seen. This is a direct result of our operations to clear the Al Queda out of the Al Anbar province. We set the tone and showed the Iraqi's that we are there to help. We brought the Iraqi security forces up to speed and by using them in the operations they gained the experience, skills and confidence that they could provide for the security of their people. The people saw the Iraqi forces working for them and they got the trust of the citizens. For 50 years inside the country of Iraq those who wore the uniform of the ruling government were not the defenders of the people but rather the enforcers of a brutal dictator. That sort of attitude towards uniformed people does not change overnight, but it is changing.
So for all the blustering by politicians, all the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands by every "the sky is falling" liberal, for every person who has seen nothing but gloom and doom reinforced by their daily reminder of the loss of American life in this campaign, the soldier on the ground has continued to do his duty. He has remained loyal to his leaders, and he has been able to seize the situation on the ground and it would seem in spite of everyone else they are doing what needs to be done and doing it better then any of their critics could imagine.
Of course you aren't going to hear about unless of course you go read Michael Yon and Bill Roggio who are living, eating, sleeping and in one infamous case fighting alongside the soldiers and walking among the general population.
The fighting has not reached the level of violence that was witnessed in Fallujah, yet, but the operation is in the beginning stages and in fact may last for 60 days. One thing that is clear is the trap has been set and according to what little information you can find we aren't there to take prisoners.
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