Iraq War Updates

Just a couple updates in regard to the War in Iraq:

Sunni leaders power up
One of the keys to General Petraeus' strategy in Iraq was to rely on cooperation from local leaders around the country.  His plan was successful, and a group of Sunni leaders, in particular, are making great strides in exerting influence on the fledgling Iraqi government.  Having initially dropped off the political radar due to Saddam Hussein being a Sunni, these leaders have stepped up to the plate, leading the charge (working with U.S. forces) in expelling Al Qaeda from many areas they'd previously held.  The largely Shiite government is wary of the Sunni Awakening, fearing a potential civil war-type showdown once U.S. forces leave the country.  Hopefully, true peace will facilitate the cooperation between the two groups, and we can leave without fear of an Iraqi collapse.

Operations continue
General Petraeus continues his wild success by launching a new Iraq-wide campaign to " synchronize lethal and non-lethal effects to exploit recent security gains and disrupt terrorist support zones and enemy command and control."  Kicked out of western and central Iraq by a combination of US troops and Sunni tribesmen and out of Baghdad and its environs by a combination of American military skill and citizen cooperation, al-Qaeda has gone to the north where the Kurds have recently been fighting them and where some successful suicide bombers have hit recently. There will be some concentration of forces there in order to assist the Kurds in taking out the terrorists.  Soon, the terrorists will literally have no place to go where they can set up shop and cause trouble. At that point, the prospects for real peace in Iraq will increase dramatically.  Petraeus has already been named to several 'Man of the Year' lists; if he finishes this mission successfully -- and I have no doubt that he will -- he should be named 'Man of the Decade'.

There's my two cents.