WSJ Blogs

Real-time commentary and analysis from The Wall Street Journal
Baghdad Life
Journal correspondents report on evolving conditions in Iraq

Iraq Violence Continues to Drop, Military Reports

By Gina Chon

Violence is continuing to ebb in Iraq, including the northern area of the country, where the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq is now focused. In a press conference today, Major General Mark Hertling, head of military operations in the northern area of Iraq, said significant violent acts are down and cities like Mosul and Baqubah are returning to normal and rebuilding.

Significant attacks were down 75% in June with 650 such incidents that month, compared to 2,600 in June 2007. The number of improvised explosive device (roadside bombs) attacks were down by 50% in June compared to February, when there were 950 such attacks.

Mr. Hertling said three months ago, a major market area in Mosul was a ghost town, while now it’s crowded with customers and merchants. When he visited Samarra, where an attack on a shrine in February 2006 unleashed a wave of sectarian violence, in January, he was shot at three times. But during a recent visit, he said he was able to walk from a military base to the shrine, which is being rebuilt.

But Mr. Hertling noted that threats still exist and the fight against insurgents continues. In the first part of the year, 250 Iraqis were killing in his area of operations from suicide bombers, while another 1,500 were killed by car bombs.

Next month, Iraqi and U.S. forces are preparing to go after al Qaeda in Diyala province while operations in the Mosul area continues. Mr. Hertling said in Diyala, al Qaeda has been pushed to the rural areas of the province where they have sought refuge after fleeing the cities.

While Iraqi security forces will take the lead in the Diyala mission, as they have been in other recent operations, the U.S. military will provide fire support, intelligence assistance, engineering staff and other forms of help.

Mr. Hertling said one of the challenges of the Diyala operation is the intense heat in Iraq, where temperatures are hitting 120 degrees. The mission also spans the entire province of Diyala, which is the size of New Jersey.

While security has improved, unemployment is still a major issue in the northern area of Iraq, as it is in the rest of the country. “What needs to happen now is continuing improvement in the economic conditions of society,” the general said.

Add a Comment

We welcome thoughtful comments from readers. Please comply with our guidelines. Our blogs do not require the use of your real name.

Comments (5 of 8)

View all Comments »
    • Jon, give me a cite for being told the cost of the war will be $80B, and I’ll get back to you.
      -
      While you’re at it, was Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, various infrastructure projects, the Bid Dig, accurately budgeted as well? I don’t think so. Let’s hang them high too and get the hell out of each one!

    • Lets recap. We were told that this war would cost from 0 to $80 Billion max. Instead, the war has already cost (using the lowest estiamates possible) half a trillion dollars, and counting even a smidgeon of future and indirect costs, the cost is over $1T easily.

      So what would you say in the private sector about someone who overan costs by at least an order of magnitude ?

    • I know I’m a little late to this Board, but I can’t let the above post go unchecked. He said: “None of the reasons provided by the administration for waging this costly war (except the last, insufficient excuse that saddam was a real bad guy) had any truth to them.” This is false. Let us all step back, take a deep breath, and recall the conclusion of the independent Robb-Silbermann Report: “We conclude that it was the paucity of intelligence and poor analytical tradecraft, rather than political pressure, that produced the inaccurate pre-war intelligence assessments.” Let us also recall that Congress had the same information Bush did. In this regard, I always thought that the fabrication claims are ridiculous. I am sure that if Bush did actually lie, then there would have been an actual impeachment. It’s a Democratic Senate after all.

    • so, the war on iraq has now suddenly been won with dignity and honor. i guess we owe it all to the surge. bravo. good to have such unvarnished views of the u.s. involvement in the middle east. setting aside the fact that none of the reasons provided by the administration for waging this costly war (except the last, insufficient excuse that saddam was a real bad guy) had any truth to them. and never mind the fact that, much like the original invasion of afghanistan (a war i had no problem with because we were in pursuit of the people who claimed responsibility for 9/11), we are now paying cold hard cash for the relative calm of only having 325 “significant attacks” and only 475 road-side bombs in june in the formally tranquil “northern area” of iraq under General Hertling’s command. and i guess they have also rebuilt the infrastructure of iraq so that normal people have running water, plumbing, and electricity. not. and they have also provided jobs, security, and a future of hope for the iraqi people. nicely done. now maybe if we just moved those 30K troops to afghanistan, perhaps we could actually surge to victory there.

    • Look at what you have written, you sound like a religious nut. It is these sentiments precisely that make people distrust americans’ motiviation.

      “a world of absolute moral valuations.
      The freedom of the individual reigns supreme in America.
      And no one will destroy our flame of liberty in the world, because our cause is the highest goal of humanity.
      Look at the gates of American civilization: Peoples from every corner of the globe flood our doors in search of progress and liberty.
      They are the living proof that America is the salvation of the world.
      God bless America and God bless the civilization of the American peoples–rock of the age.”