Iraqi Surge Analysis

Madhi Army: NY Times Zigs, AFP Zags
Interesting contrast between the NY Times Baghdad correspondent’s sniffing dismissal of the effectiveness of the troop surge and their assessment of Moqtada al-Sadr’s role in the reduction of the violence in Iraq, on Monday:
It’s not a simple cause and effect. The surge is a factor — but there are others, too, including the shifts in tactics among the violent elements in the Sunni and Shiite camps.
On the Shiite side, the decline in violence against Sunnis comes mainly from a cease-fire by Moktada Al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric, which began after a scandalous bit of violence involving his militia in one of Iraqi’s holiest Shiite cities.
American commanders have said that they are aggressively negotiating with Sadr officials to help keep his militia, the Mahdi Army, in check. But if the cease-fire ends, if Mr. Sadr’s whims shift, that could push violence up again — no matter how many troops are here. Basically, the Americans find themselves playing the role of facilitators, hoping that both sides stick to their newfound strategies, and doing everything they can to keep it that way.
Compared to the French AFP reporting the very next day, Tuesday. H/T the Sundries Shack.
DOZENS of militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were arrested in a massive assault by US and Iraqi troops in the central city of Diwaniyah, officials said overnight.
Iraqi security officials said 3000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen supported by military tanks and hundreds of US and Polish troops launched the assault on Saturday to flush out Shiite militants from the city.
Hussain al-Buderi, a member of the Qadisiyah provincial council, said 49 militants from the Sadr group, including four leaders, were arrested since the launch of Operation Lion’s Leap.
Interesting contrast. Let’s see how long the left holds on to the meme that the reduction in violence in Iraq is driving by the Madhi Army “cease-fire”
Technorati Tags: Moqtada, Sadr, Surge, Madhi

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