So far, so good

Well for the most part I’m happy with the plan for Iraq. I’d have preferred to see 20,000 troops for the surge in and around Baghdad and an additional 2 Army Cavalry Regiments for the borders with Syria and Iran. But it appears as if the president was reading Lex when he said:

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work…

In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods – and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.

That Mr. & Mrs. America is called a change to the Rules of Engagement or ROE Lex called for two posts under. The change in ROE is in itself is a force multiplier. This will allow the 4,000 Marines headed for Anbar Province to kick ass and take names. Dead terrorists "don't return" once cleared. The neighborhoods the president is talking about are Sadr Army neighborhoods. Sadr’s Madhi Army is about to become the Madhi Fire Team (for the unwashed: A fire team is a Marine three man combat team). Not causing Sadr to assume room temperature two years ago was one of the mistakes the president accepted responsibility for at the start of the speech.

Also encouraging was the information that another carrier strike group was headed to the Gulf region. That bit of information followed this:

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

Let me see, “we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies” followed by, “I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region.” Hmm, does anyone else think these two developments just might be linked?

Will the plan work? I don’t know. I do know that dealing with Syria and Iran now is a good thing. I do know killing the Islamo-terror-fascists in Anbar is good thing. I do know watching Sadr soil himself in the face an unrelenting US Army assault into “his neighborhoods” is a good thing. But at the end of the day R.C. Durbin was right about the Iraqis having to step up. This plan will give them and the region one more chance to do that.
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