Do We Think They Are Stupid?

We must! They've been warning Iraq about a surge and new offensives for weeks. Do ya think that insurgents, al Qaeda, militia groups, anybody with a lot of guns is going to sit around and wait for forces to come knock on their doors? The only thing I am afraid of is that American troops are going to get some of what Israeli soldiers go when they crossed over into Lebanon last summer. They are definitely monitoring what we are doing and I'm just praying that there is not a hellacious ambush.

U.S. and Iraqi forces sweeping through Baghdad met little resistance on Friday in an offensive that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told President Bush had been a "brilliant success" so far.

Maliki is under pressure to ease sectarian violence threatening to plunge Iraq into all-out civil war and he renewed a pledge to Bush during a video conference that troops would hunt down militants regardless of their sect.

Brigadier Qassim Moussawi, a spokesman for the Iraqi general overseeing the offensive, said the number of violent deaths reported in the capital had fallen from 40-50 a day to 10.

The commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad confirmed violence had declined but warned of tough days ahead. He said "bloodthirsty" militants were lying low, trying to get a measure of the thousands of troops sweeping across the city.

The U.S. military said it had no indication the al Qaeda leader in Iraq had been wounded or killed after Iraqi Interior Ministry sources said Abu Ayyub al-Masri had been wounded in clashes with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad.

The talks between Maliki and Bush were the first reported between the two since Operation Imposing Law got under way.

"The plan has achieved brilliant success in its early days and the government will deal firmly with any outlaw group, regardless of their affiliation," a statement from the prime minister's office quoted Maliki as telling Bush.

Maliki, a Shi'ite, has frustrated his U.S. backers with his reluctance to confront the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia that Washington calls the greatest threat in Iraq.

Major-General Joseph Fil Jr, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, told Pentagon reporters the dip in violence was likely to be temporary while gunmen halted attacks to assess the situation. He said attacks by the Mehdi Army had declined.

"They are watching us carefully," Fil said.

"There is an air of suspense throughout the city, expectation if you will, and we believe there's no question about it -- many of these extremists are lying low and watching to see what it is we do and how we do it," Fil said.

"We do not believe that that is going to continue. We do expect there are going to be some very rough, difficult days ahead. This enemy, they understand lethality and they have a thirst for blood like I have never seen anywhere before."

I still find it ironic that we invaded another country and are surprised that people are fighting back and, given the history of the country, fighting each other. This crackdown is going to work for all of a minute and then we'll be back to where we started from - again!

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