Iraq says Al-Qaeda cleared from main northern city

From Yahoo via AFP.

A 10-day operation by Iraqi troops in Mosul has succeeded in dismantling Al-Qaeda's network in Iraq's main northern city, regarded by US commanders as the jihadists' last urban bastion, the interior ministry said on Saturday. "Operation 'Mother of Two Springs' has enabled us to dismantle and weaken the Al-Qaeda network in Nineveh province," ministry spokesman Abdel Karim Khalaf told AFP. A total of 1,480 people have been detained since the operation began on May 14, 300 of them wanted suspects, Khalaf added. "Among those arrested were important Al-Qaeda leaders, including both military commanders and intelligence chiefs, as well as members of Ansar al-Sunna, the Army of Mujahedeen and the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution," all Sunni Arab insurgent groups, he said.

In 12 days of operations, Iraqi forces with assistance from the US have captured 300 high-level insurgents or an average of 25 per day. Of the 1480 captured, about 1000 insurgents maintain in custody. Put another way, this is 83 insurgents taken off the street per day.

In case one is wondering if the right people have been captured, understand in the 12 days since operations "Mother of Two Springs" started, attacks in Mosul are down 85%.

Couple these reports with the report that nine local emirs were captured in Diyala, and one begins to see a pattern of a complete collapse of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Al Qaeda in Iraq's last unassailable base was Mosul. From Mosul, Al Qaeda in Iraq carried out operations in Salaldin and Diyala Provinces.

While, Al Qaeda in Iraq attempts to regain a foothold in Al Anbar, it has been run out of Diyala and Salaldin Provinces and fled north to Mosul. Now its forces are being rounded up in Mosul. Simultaneously, 3ID forces have all but cleared the Triangle of Death south of Baghdad. The Marines are keeping Al Anbar quite. All of this is against the backdrop of Sons Of Iraq forces still growing in numbers daily.

Which was once of force of a few thousand Al Qaeda members who enjoyed tacit or active support from the population is now a force which is having its leadership decapitated daily with Sons Of Iraq providing security once Iraqi and US forces clear towns and communities.

Operationally, PM Maliki's forces have cleared the South of Shiite militias and Special Groups and are now walking freely in Sadr City. The Kurdish north has always been secure and is propsering well. Al Anbar was cleared in early 2007. Now the center of the country, known as the belts around Baghdad are being cleared of insurgents to include their last city held, Mosul.

Strategically, since PM Maliki's forces led the charges in the South, Sadr City, and Mosul, his Army is being seen as having the capability to secure its own country. In fact, they are not only securing their own country, they are clearing insurgents out of their country. Secure is a defensive term while clearing is an offensive term.

Because his forces are now going after not only Sunni insurgents, but also Shiite insurgents, PM Maliki is buiding up trust among Sunnis (and Iraqis in general), who are going back into the government. His military successes have resulted in political reconciliation as a strong central government has emerged. This strong central government will now be expected to maintain the peace and also begin to provide essential services throughout the country, especially in recently cleared and secured areas.

With violence dropping 85% in most areas, PM Maliki must transition his efforts from gaining security to maintaining security and reconstruction. Reconstruction will lead to further reconciliation. Reconciliation will lead to a strong, unified, democratic government which will continue to build capacity to provide essential services and security to the populous. Once both of these are provided, the new democratic Iraq will shortly become an economic powerhouse in the region causing other nations in the region to wonder aloud why they are not enjoying the same economic freedoms as their Sunni, Shiite, or Kurdish brothers.

The one answer will be democracy which can maintain security while promoting economic prosperity. A fundamental shift is about to occur in the Middle East. This shift will be away from dictatorships to democratic governments which allow the common man to rise up from poverty through hard work and propser.

If 2007 was the turning point militarily in Iraq, 2008 will be seen as the turning point economically and politically. I predict 2009 and 2010 will be seen as the turning point politically in the region as a whole.

All of this has been made possible by a bold initiative began in early 2003 to replace a dictator and install a democratic government in the center of the Middle East for all other countries to emulate. Ronald Reagan got the Soviet Union to drop the wall and freed millions of people in Europe. George Bush destroyed a similar wall in the Middle East which also freed millions of people. Unlike Eastern Europe where a transfer to democracy was executed from the ground up, in the Middle East it was introduced from the top down simultaneously with security being formed from the bottom up.

Al Qaeda, Iranian Special Groups, and Shiite Militias have all been on the wrong side of this war for freedom and democracy. They are now suffering the consequences of their actions.