Major Military Operation Underway in Iraq

Despite the improvement of the security situation in Iraq, General Petreaus has continued to say that al-Qaeda remains a dangerous threat. In light of that, this news about a new joint US-Iraqi military operation to combat the terrorists is not surprising:

U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major operation to strike against al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists, the U.S. military said Tuesday, in an effort to build on a recent overall reduction of violence and push militants from their strongholds.

The division and brigade-level operation, dubbed Phantom Phoenix, will cover the entire country, the military said. "Phantom Phoenix will synchronize lethal and non-lethal effects to exploit recent security gains and disrupt terrorist support zones and enemy command and control," the military said in a statement.

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.