There have been four pillars to the recent success in Iraq. 1) The increase in troop numbers - the surge helped, particularly in Baghdad (though the ethnic cleansing of the neighborhoods also went a long way). 2) The turning of the Sunnis against the foreign fighters, a largely practical approach that the pentagon and white house avoided for years. 3) the cease fire declared by al Sadr and 4) strategic hits based on "game changing" new methods that are being held close to the chest and which I think this latest hit is an example of the results.

By far the most important aspect of recent success has been the willingness of the white house to let the military actually decide how this war w...

There have been four pillars to the recent success in Iraq. 1) The increase in troop numbers - the surge helped, particularly in Baghdad (though the ethnic cleansing of the neighborhoods also went a long way). 2) The turning of the Sunnis against the foreign fighters, a largely practical approach that the pentagon and white house avoided for years. 3) the cease fire declared by al Sadr and 4) strategic hits based on "game changing" new methods that are being held close to the chest and which I think this latest hit is an example of the results.

By far the most important aspect of recent success has been the willingness of the white house to let the military actually decide how this war will progress. Gone are the "retirements" of generals who don't agree, etc. The Iraq War was a strategic blunder of the largest magnitude, now that things have settled, let's admit the error and get out.

Transcript of Trib interview with Gen. David H. Petraeus
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_594399.html
On Oct. 14, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters Salena Zito and Carl Prine joined editor Frank Craig during a wide-ranging discussion with Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former commander of Multinational Forces in Iraq. Here is the complete transcript:

Yemen presents challenges. Or, there are challenges to the government of Yemen, both in terms of insurgent threats and al Qaeda sanctuary issues that are of concern.

You have, of course, the continuing dynamics in Lebanon where the trajectory has been, arguably, positive. But, again, it faces the traditional and...

Transcript of Trib interview with Gen. David H. Petraeus
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_594399.html
On Oct. 14, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporters Salena Zito and Carl Prine joined editor Frank Craig during a wide-ranging discussion with Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former commander of Multinational Forces in Iraq. Here is the complete transcript:

Yemen presents challenges. Or, there are challenges to the government of Yemen, both in terms of insurgent threats and al Qaeda sanctuary issues that are of concern.

You have, of course, the continuing dynamics in Lebanon where the trajectory has been, arguably, positive. But, again, it faces the traditional and historical challenges.

We'll see which way Syria goes. There's been outreach to Syria by France. There's been some indication that Syria recognizes the looming economic issues they'll have to deal with and are recognizing increasingly that the answer to those will not lie with Iran but more with the Gulf states, the west and so on.

Of course, this is all in a strategic context of ongoing actions in the Mideast Peace Process, needless to say, that have a great deal to do with shaping the context in which all this plays out.

While you are preparing...
Too stubborn to change: Israel's invasion of Lebanon has been a disaster, but there's little chance that it will change tack.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/aug/14/toostubborntochange
Truth might be the first casualty of every war, but not even the densest fog can hide the fact that Israel's invasion of Lebanon has been a moral, military and political disaster.

Not only has Israel burnished its reputation as a regional bully, it has also managed to acquire a new one for being more savage and indiscriminate than the foes its allies in the western media have effectively demonised as brutish reprobates. The statistics speak for themselves.

To date Isra...

While you are preparing...
Too stubborn to change: Israel's invasion of Lebanon has been a disaster, but there's little chance that it will change tack.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/aug/14/toostubborntochange
Truth might be the first casualty of every war, but not even the densest fog can hide the fact that Israel's invasion of Lebanon has been a moral, military and political disaster.

Not only has Israel burnished its reputation as a regional bully, it has also managed to acquire a new one for being more savage and indiscriminate than the foes its allies in the western media have effectively demonised as brutish reprobates. The statistics speak for themselves.

To date Israel has acknowledged the deaths of around 110 soldiers, compared to over 120 of its civilians, a nearly even combatant/civilian casualty ratio. Last Friday Israel showered west Beirut with leaflets naming 90 Hizbullah fighters it claims to have killed. Earlier in the same week Hizbullah named its dead in a list running to 53 martyrs. Several more were acknowledged to have died over the weekend. Against a UN figure of 1,020 Lebanese killed up that translates into a combatant/civilian deaths ratio of anywhere between 1:11 and 1:19.

Taking a median figure it means that Israel has killed nearly 15 times more civilians to every combatant than Hizbullah
... Guardian

more ...

The invasion has also been a political setback for Israel, just as much as the failure to smash Hizbullah and the heavy casualties it has suffered represent a military defeat. As the creature of an unholy alliance between western anti-semitism and Jewish nationalism, from its very inception Israel has served a strategic value for the west. In a commentary published in Haaretz last week, David B Rivkin Jr. and Lee A Casey make the case that if Israel were to emerge from this war with its aura of invincibility in tatters, its perceived value as a US ally could decline. They write:
The Washington-Jerusalem strategic partnership has always been nurtured by a steady stream of Is[b]...

more ...

The invasion has also been a political setback for Israel, just as much as the failure to smash Hizbullah and the heavy casualties it has suffered represent a military defeat. As the creature of an unholy alliance between western anti-semitism and Jewish nationalism, from its very inception Israel has served a strategic value for the west. In a commentary published in Haaretz last week, David B Rivkin Jr. and Lee A Casey make the case that if Israel were to emerge from this war with its aura of invincibility in tatters, its perceived value as a US ally could decline. They write:
The Washington-Jerusalem strategic partnership has always been nurtured by a steady stream of Israeli successes, both in defending its own security and in advancing American interests. These successes ranged from humbling the Soviet Union's Cold War Arab clients, proving the superiority of America's weapons over Russia's (the IDF's 1982 downing of 85 Syrian MIGs being a perfect case in point), to providing invaluable intelligence and being a democracy in a sea of autocracies. Israel's successful 1981 Osirak mission was another excellent example of its strategic value in the Middle East. An Israel that could defang Saddam's nuclear program could also credibly offer the United States help against Iran's looming nuclear threat.
... Ha'aretz