Why the enemy can't quit

Strategy Page:

With things quieting down in Baghdad, more forces are following the terrorist groups to their new bases in the suburbs. A major breakthrough in counter-terrorist operations is the ability to actually track down the people behind the specific terrorist bombings. People are more willing to talk, especially in the Sunni Arab community. There, the attitude is that the terror campaign has failed, the Shia and Kurds have an unassailable military edge, and that if the violence does not stop, the Sunni Arab community will be destroyed. Even Sunni Arabs in neighboring countries are telling the Iraqi Sunnis that resistance is futile. This has created an even more intense backlash against al Qaeda, for whom surrender is unthinkable. Al Qaeda has made a major commitment to success in Iraq. Failure here will be a major defeat. But failure is what is happening. Iraqi Sunni Arab tribes are actively going after al Qaeda groups, and now these Sunni Arab tribal militias are cooperating with the American and government security forces in tracking down the al Qaeda bomb factories, bomb builder and bomb delivery teams. But al Qaeda has a deep bench in Iraq, courtesy of Saddam's many henchmen. These guys are on death lists for the crimes they committed for Saddam. If vengeful kin don't get them, there's the prospect of prosecution for crimes against humanity. The world may have forgotten about these fellows, but many Iraqis have not. The only way out for Saddam's killers is to get back into power, or get amnesty. The government has been unable to promise a wide enough amnesty because, as a democracy, the majority of the population is against it. So it's a fight to the death, and the bad guys are losing.

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There is more. The bad guys do have an alternative. It is one that they have forced many others to take. Its called leave. That probably will be their ultimate end if they survive the surge. As the surge spreads their area to maneuver in will continue to shrink shrink. They are men on the run and only the Democrats can save them at this point.