How to Win Wars

The Fourth Rail has a nice piece that sets out how we are prevailing in the wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, contrary to the reports in the MSM.

In Iraq the Iraqis are beginnning to carry more of the load. But it is the ability of the Coalition forces to keep the pressure on the "insurgents" that is paying dividends. In the American Civil War, once U.S. Grant took over the Army of the Potomac, it was his relentless pressure on Lee's forces that finally made the difference. When lesser generals were in charge, Lee was able to exploit their pauses to regroup his own forces. Grant gave the South no such respite. In Iraq, after some pauses to get Iraqi forces organized and to get the logistical chain in order, the pressure has begun to be seriously applied. Fallujah was just the first step. Operations in Mosul and in the Sunni Triangle have been on-going. The enemy cannot keep up the pace the Coalition is forcing. The ability of the Coalition to handle more than one problem at a time is a surprise to the enemy as is the ineffectiveness of his Improvised Explosive Devices. Further, as Iraqi forces take over control of more areas, the other Coalition members will have more combat power to apply to the reeling enemy.

A similar approach is being taken in Afghanistan. The Fourth Rail points to a winter offensive.

[Maj. Gen. Eric] Olson said the offensive -- which will cover the entire U.S.-led force of about 18,000 -- would attempt to disturb militants in their "winter sanctuaries" so that they will be in no shape to move against the parliamentary vote slated for April. The military will be "attempting to attack him in those sanctuaries while he's resting and refitting, staging and planning," said Olson, the operational commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

To reinforce the frontier, Olson said the U.S. military would establish several new camps close to the border. He said Afghan forces would also reposition "along and astride" routes used by militants. And he promised to strengthen cooperation with Pakistani forces across the border.

The Islamofascist enemy is given no respite...

Relentless pressure from different directions is how wars are won. The enemy is given no time to rest, regroup or rearm.
He can only lose.

Update: Corrected some typos and straigtened out some phrasing.