Not even two months ago, the Washington Post reported that the U.S. military believed so-called al Qaeda in Iraq was "crippled" and "all but eliminated." The focus of military force -- and the new greatest threat to Iraq, apparently -- was shifting to Shia militias, which officials identified as a greater "relative" threat with the ostensible defeat of AQI.
Today the Post reports that AQI is back (if it was ever gone), and General Petraeus is praising the Shia militia of Moqtada al-Sadr, a vehement critic of the U.S., as helping to reduce the overall level of violence in Iraq. The lack of analysis -- even recognition -- regarding the constant shifts in strategy is baffling. But I guess we have this month's Main Enemy in Iraq. Does that mean we'll be winning again if in a couple months AQI is defeated . . . just like it was in October?
--A.J. Rossmiller
