May 26, 2007

Awaited Good News

Ever since the Iraqis took up more and more security responsibility down south in the British zone, I've been waiting for something. With less territory to patrol, initial results would be to make up for initial low concentration of forces and to make up for coalition country members who, for lack of spine or lack of funds, had withdrawn from Iraq in the southern zone. But eventually, eventually, mention of UK troops would start to show up in Baghdad and other tough US assignments, heralding a lessening of the US burden. I saw my first such mention today, in an Al Jazeera story about clashes with the Mahdi army.

It's good news. It won't get much mention, passing nearly unremarked in most news stories, but good news indeed. The US military burden is starting to ever so slightly drop as our allies hand over more and more territory to the Iraqis and have troops left over after they adequately staff their remaining zones. After the next provincial handover, I expect a bit more retreat from exhausted allies and a bit more presence of our friends in what were exclusively US zones. Over the next year after that, I expect the mainstream media, at some point, to notice.

Posted by TMLutas at May 26, 2007 09:00 AM