The Enemy in Iraq

Wall Street Journal ^ | Editorial

[OESY]

...The Zarqawi memo also reveals how much recent developments have been the product of a deliberate plan rather than a popular revolt. It talks of using the Sunni Triangle as a sanctuary, and of targeting the Shiite community with car bombs, along with Iraq's "bastard government." Stopping the creation of Iraqi security forces appears to be Zarqawi's primary aim....

...But the problem is that we've been unable to protect and reassure the many Sunnis who would, all things being equal, choose our side....

The start-stop battle of Fallujah this April was a mistake, and has left that city as a staging area for attacks in Baghdad in particular. At least the White House now seems to appreciate its error. U.S. commanders have lately been given the green light to attack Tal Afar, a mini-Fallujah near the Syrian border, with military success.... Former commander of the 101st Airborne, Major-General David Petraeus, is making notable progress on the training front, but most of his Iraqis are still some months away from being an effective force.

Meantime, our enemies will continue to do whatever damage they can. They can read the U.S. election calendar as well as al Qaeda read Spain's, and their hope is to create precisely the appearance of "chaos" that American critics of the war are broadcasting for their own partisan purposes. It hasn't helped that many prominent Democrats, including recently John Kerry, are giving the impression that they will start to pull out as early as six months from taking office. Iraqis of all kinds have heard that too. As we've said, we think the stronger Kerry ground, on politics and substance, would be to criticize President Bush for not prosecuting the war fiercely enough. But the Senator doesn't seem capable of making that argument....