More evidence of enemy defeat in Iraq

Strategy Page:

The decline in U.S. casualties over the past few months has been accompanied by a sharp decline in U.S. Air Force combat activity. The enemy is not there anymore. They are dead, fled or given up the violent life. In the first nine months of the year, air force (including British) jets carried out 2,539 attacks (with bombs or cannon). That was up 43 percent from the same period last year. Activity peaked in August, when there were 303 attacks, but fell to 90 in September, and continued to decline in October.

One F-16 squadron has been here for two months, and has made no (as in zero) attacks. The pilots have been busy, however, constantly using their targeting pods to act as aerial scouts for ground troops. But they have not come across any bad guys the G.I.s couldn't handle. The infantry have plenty of guided missiles and "smart" artillery (GPS guided shells and rockets) available. The pilots are beginning to feel unneeded.

...

Only a few months ago the media was talking up the increased tempo of air operations in Iraq as if it was a problem. The fact is that in combination with the COIN operations it was effective in defeating the enemy. One of the last big hits was an al Qaeda leader who left a plaintive message saying they were losing. He was right.

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