Keeping the Bad Guys on the Run

National Review Online has a good article by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. about the chase by US and Iraqi forces of "insurgents." This is a logical follow-on to the Fallujah action. Going into Bad Guy land keeps momentum on our side and gets the enemy off balance. There must be no save havens for him to operate.

Col. Ron Johnson, commander of the 24th MEU, tells NRO that the operations have been seamless and effective. "We can tell by the reaction of the enemy," he says. "We can tell by the increase in their activity, for example the fever pitch at which they're laying IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. We're starting to suffocate them, and they're panicking. We have a large target list, and we're going to continue to stay after them."

The risks are high, but the risks of not doing this are even higher.