United States Cracking Down on Iraq Extremists!

American forces have routed Al Qaeda of Mesopatamia, the Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood of Baghdad. This was stated by an American general. This allows troops supposedly involved to depart as it was previously planned. Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of United States forces in Baghdad, stated that American troops have not cleared about thirteen percent of the city. That includes areas controlled by Shiite militia. But, violence has been greatly reduced since the spike in June. “Murder victims are down 80 percent from where they were at the peak,” he said. Attacks involving the improvised bombs known as I.E.D.s are down 70 percent, he said. General Fil attributed the decline to improvements in the Iraqi security forces, a cease-fire ordered by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, the disruption of funding for insurgents, and most significant, Iraqis’ rejection of “the rule of the gun.” “The Iraqi people have just decided that they’ve had it up to here with violence,” he said. But, they have a greater demand for water, jobs, and electricity. Many families have begun to return to their homes, but a great number still cowers in fear of returning home. Sunni extremist groups could revive and “re-infest very quickly,” General Fil said, Iraq’s leaders should now have the peace they need to build a trusted, cross-sectarian government. But progress toward that, he said, has been “disappointing.” American troops targeted more operations to the farm towns and villages of the country. The operations are aimed at keeping momentum. Stability, General Fil said, “is within sight but not yet within touch.” “Close, but not yet within touch.” Throughout history, the United States government has created military operations to decrease violence and keep the peace in certain countries. Many military operations to lower violence to provide safe areas for people to live in have occurred over time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/world/middleeast/08iraq.html?hp