A Series of Explosions Rocks Fallujah: "'A U.S. soldier died Tuesday in Baghdad, raising the U.S. death toll for April to 115 — the same number killed during the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) last year. Up to 1,200 Iraqis also have been killed this month.
... They took a heavy beating,' said Col. Brad May, commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. 'Our goal ... is to continue to pressure al-Sadr and his militia. We are not going away.' "

Are these tactics that will work against people who believe in martyrdom, and therefore don't care if they are killed? I don't believe so, and I think events on the ground prove that. The more force we use, the more support the resistance gets.
(I am not going to use the term "insurgents". We are insurgents in Iraq. We are foreign fighters in Iraq. We are killing more innocent Iraqis than the suicide bombers. So let's not hide behind grand phrases that suggest we are defending freedom or creating democracy. After all, how can you create freedom by beating a person into the ground?)
- posted by geoff @ #