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The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

Between Baghdad and Fallujah

By The Daily Dish
Mar 24 2008, 9:21 AM ET

Michael Totten reports on the pacification of the Iraqi town of Karmah, once a nest of al Qaeda and IED Central. Now, according to Michael, the non-Jihadist Sunnis are back in control:

“Last time I was out here,” Sergeant Perusich said, “everything was real kinetic. It has calmed down a lot. We don't go around kicking in doors and throwing in flashbangs anymore. We used to to that a lot, go and bust doors in and run everything over.”

“Now we're more like FBI agents,” Lieutenant Macak said.

“It helps if you ask the neighbors,” Sergeant Perusich said. “Everybody is really close. So if you ask somebody next door about someone and they say something different, it helps us in our tactical questioning.”

The vicious evil of al Qaeda essentially and eventually backfired. It should also be remembered that before the US invasion, al Qaeda was not terrorizing Karmah. We let them in; now we have gotten them out. If we leave? Who knows. This war is slowly creating the conditions for its total permanence.



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